next to christmas, halloween is the most commercialized celebration in theunited states and canada. this ancient festival originated far from northamerica however, and centuries before the first european set foot on thecontinent.

the ancientruids 督伊德教(古代高卢人与不列颠人的一种宗教)的教徒 who inhabited what we now callgreat britain placed great importance on the passing of one season to the next,holding "fire festivals" which were celebrated for threeays (twoays oneither side of theay itself).

one of these festivals was called samhain (pronounced sha-von) and it tookplace on october 31 through to november 1.uring this period, it was believedthat the boundaries between our world and the world of theead were weakened,allowing spirits of the recentlyead to cross over and possess the living.

in order to make themselves and their homes less inviting to these waywardspirits, the ancient celts(凯尔特人)wouldouse (插入水中, 把弄熄, 弄湿)all their fires.there was also a secondary purpose to this, after extinguishing all their fires,they would re-light them from a common source, theruidic fire that was keptburning at usinach, in the middle of ireland.

samhain was considered to be a gateway not only from the land of theeadto the land of the living, but also between summer and fall/winter. for thedruids, this was the last gasp (喘息, 气喘)of summer (it was also the celtic newyear), so therefore they made sure it went out with a bang before they had tobuttonown (把...弄清楚)for the winter ahead.

they wouldress up in bizarre costumes and parade through their villagescausingestruction in order to scare off any recentlyeparted souls who mightbe prowling (巡游)for bodies to inhabit, in addition to burning animals and otherofferings to theruidiceities(神, 神性). it is also a popular belief that theywould burn people who they believed to be possessed, but this has largely beendebunked (揭穿, 拆穿假面具, 暴露)as myth.

this yearly festival was adopted by the roman invaders, who helped topropagate (传播, 宣传)it throughout the rest of the world (and at that time, theroman empire was the world). the word "halloween" itself actually comes from acontraction of all hallows eve, or all saint'say (november 1), which is acatholicay of observance in honor of saints.

this tradition was later brought to the north american continent by irishimmigrants who were escaping the potato famine in their homeland. in addition tothe festival itself, the immigrants brought several customs with them, includingone of the symbols most commonly associated with halloween -- the jack 'olantern.

according to irish folklore, there once lived a man named jack who wasknown for being arunk and a prankster(顽皮的人, 爱开玩笑的人). one night jack trickedtheevil into climbing a tree, and quickly carved an image of a cross on thetrunk, trapping theevil. jack then made him promise that, in exchange forletting him out of the tree, theevil would never tempt him to sin again. hereluctantly agreed, but was able to exact his revenge upon jack'seath. becauseof his mischievous ways in life, jack was barred from entering he***en andbecause of his earlier trick, he was also barred from hell. so he wasoomed towander the earth until the end of time, with only a single ember(灰烬, 余烬)(carried in a hollowed out turnip.[植]芜箐, 芜箐甘蓝) to warm him and light hisway.

in ireland, they originally also used turnips for their "jack lanterns",but upon arriving in the new world, theyiscovered that pumpkins were abundantand easier to carve out.

万圣节前夕

万圣节前夕是美国人年年都会庆祝的秋季节日。它的意思是“神圣的夜晚”，在每年的10月31日，也就是万圣节前夜。但实际上这不是一个真正的宗教节日，而主要是孩子们的节日。

每年秋天蔬菜成熟可以食用的时候，孩子们就会挑出大个儿的橙色南瓜。然后在南瓜上刻上一张脸，把一根点燃的蜡烛放在里面。看起来就好像有人在向南瓜外面张望。这些灯就叫做“iack-o'-lantems”，意思也就是“杰克的灯”。

每年万圣节前夕孩子们还戴上奇怪的面具，穿上吓人的服装。有些孩子把脸刷成怪物。然后他们拿着盒子或袋子挨家挨户串门。每来到一个新房子他们就说：“不款待就捣乱!给钱还是吃的!”大人们就会把用来招待的钱或糖放在他们的袋子里了。

不仅孩子，许多成年人也喜欢万圣节前夕和万圣节前夕晚会。因为这一天他们可以根据自己的想象把自己装扮成名流或幽灵。这会带给他们年轻的快感。

万圣节的英文介绍：

halloween

halloween is an autumn holiday that americans celebrate every year. itmeans "holy evening," and it comes every october 31, the evening before allsaints'ay. however, it is not really a church holiday, it is a holiday forchildren mainly.

every autumn, when the vegetables are ready to eat, children pick largeorange pumpkins. then they cut faces in the pumpkins and put a burning candleinside. it looks as if there were a person looking out of the pumpkin! theselights are called jack-o'-lanterns, which means "jack of the lantern".

the children also put on strange masks and frightening costumes everyhalloween. some children paint their faces to look like monsters. then theycarry boxes or bags from house to house. every time they come to a new house,they say,"trick or treat! money or eat!" the grown-ups put treat-money or candyin their bags.

not only children, but most grown-ups also love halloween and halloweenparties because on thisay,they canisguise themselves as personages or ghostas their imaginations will lead them. this bring them the satisfaction of beingyoung.

更多关于万圣节的英文资料：

october 31

on october 31st,ozens of childrenressed in costumes(节日服装)knock on theirneighbors'oors and yell "trick or treat" when theoor opens. pirates andprincesses, ghosts and popular heroes of theay all hold bags open to catch thecandy or other goodies that the neighborsrop in. as they give each child atreat the neighbors exclaim over the costumes and try to guess who is under themasks.

since the 800's november 1st is a religious holiday known as all saints'day(万圣节). the mass that was said on thisay was called allhallowmas. theevening before became known as all hakkiw e'en, or halloween. like some otheramerican celebrations, its origins lie in both p-christian and christiancustoms.

october 31 st was the eve of the celtic(凯尔特人的)new year. the celts were theancestors of the psent-day irish, welsh and scottish people. on thisayghosts walked and mingled with the living, or so the celts thought. thetownspeople baked food all thatay and when night fell theyressed up andtried to resemble the souls of theead. hoping that the ghosts would le***epeacefully before midnight of the new year.

much later, when christianity spad throughout ireland and october 31 wasno longer the lastay of the year, halloween became a celebration mostly forchildren. "ghosts" went fromoor tooor asking for treats, or else a trickwould be played on the owners of the house. when millions of irish peopleimmigrated to the united states in the 1840s the tradition came with them.

today' schoolances and neighborhood parties called "block parties" arepopular among young and old alike. more and more adults celebrate halloween.theyress up like historical or political figures and go to masqueradeparties(化妆舞会). in larger cities, costumed children and their parents gather atshopping malls early in the evening. stores and businesses give parties withgames and treats for the children.teenagers enjoy costumeances at theirschools and the more outrageous the costume the better!

certain pranks(恶作剧)such as soaping car windows and tipping over garbagecans are expected. but partying and pranks are not the only things thathalloweeners enjoyoing. some collect money to buy food and medicine for needychildren around the world.

symbols of halloween

halloween originated as a celebration connected with evil spirits. witchesflying on broomsticks with black cats, ghosts, goblins(小精灵)and skeletons h***eall evolved as symbols of halloween. they are popular trick-or-treat costumesandecorations for greeting cards and windows. black is one of the traditionalhalloween colors, probably because halloween festivals and traditions took placeat night. in the weeks before october 31, americansecorate windows of housesand schools with silhouettes(轮廓)of witches and black cats.

pumpkins are also a symbol of halloween. the pumpkin is an orange-coloredsquash, and orange has become the other traditional halloween color. carvingpumpkins into jack- o'lanterns is a halloween custom alsoating back toireland. a legend grew up about a man named jack who was so stingy(吝啬的)that hewas not allowed into he***en when heied, because he was a miser(吝啬鬼). hecouldn't enter hell either because he had played jokes on theevil. as aresult, jack had to walk the earth with his lantern until judgementay(审判日).the irish people carved scary faces out of turnips(芜菁根), beets(甜菜根)or potatoesrepsenting "jack of the lantern," or jack-o'lantern. when the irish broughttheir customs to the united states, they carved faces on pumpkins because in theautumn they were more plentiful than turnips. today jack-o'-lanterns in thewindows of a house on halloween night let costumed children know that there aregoodies(糖果)waiting if they knock and say "trick or treat!"

halloween treats

dried pumpkin seeds

after carving your pumpkin, separate the pulp from the seeds. rinse(冲洗)theseeds and spad them out tory. the nextay, add enough melted butter ormargarine(人造黄油)to coat each seed. spad the seeds onto a cookie sheet(甜酥饼干)andbake for 20 minutes in a 300egree oven for 20 minutes or until they areslightly brown.

caramel apples

take the paper wrapping off about 100 caramels(饴糖)and put them in asaucepan(炖锅). put the saucepan over a pan of boiling water. boil the water untilthe caramels melt. put a wooden stick into the top of each apple,ip the appleinto the caramel. let them cool on wax paper and enjoy!

scary stories

no halloween party is complete without at least one scary story. usuallyone person talks in a low

voice while everyone else crowds together on the floor or around a fire.the following is a retelling of a tale told in britain and in north carolina andvirginia.

"whato you come for?"

there was an old woman who lived all by herself, and she was very lonely.sitting in the kitchen one night, she said, "oh, i wish i had some company."

no sooner had she spoken thanown the chimney tumbled two feet from whichthe flesh had rotted. the old woman's eyes bulged with terror.

then two legsropped to the hearth and attached themselves to thefeet.

then a body tumbledown, then two arms, and a man's head.

as the old woman watched, the parts came together into a great, tall man.the mananced around and around the room. faster and faster he went. then hestopped, and he looked into her eyes.

"whato you come for? she asked in a small voice that shivered andshook.

"whato i come for?" he said. "i come for you!"

the narrator shouts and jumps at the person near him