欧美人文风情第187篇:万圣夜起源故事

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Mocking the devil: Back in the days when Christians¹ first co-opted Halloween as All Hallows' Eve,  模仿恶魔：过去基督徒最初将万圣夜纳入成为诸圣节前夕时，

they believed the best way to fight the devil was by mocking him with the red horns and a tail, hoping it would cause him to flee. 他们相信要对抗恶魔的最好方法就是用腥红的角和尾巴模仿恶魔，期望那能让恶魔逃开。

Jack²-o'-lantern: Irish legend has it that a thief named Jack could not enter heaven or hell,  杰克南瓜灯：爱尔兰传说有一名叫杰克的小偷无法进入天堂或地狱，

and was doomed³ to live a life in darkness if not for a glowing lantern he made out of a turnip⁴.  而且要不是他用芜菁做出的发光灯笼，他就注定一辈子活在黑暗中。

Since then, turnips⁵ or beets⁶, and now pumpkins⁷,  自那时起，芜菁或甜菜根，现在则是南瓜，

were used to create jack-o'-lanterns to honor lost souls and scare away evil spirits. 就被用来做杰克南瓜灯，以纪念游魂和吓走恶灵。

Daylight savings⁸ time: Candy companies lobbied Congress to extend daylight savings time into the first week of November to get an extra hour of daylight for trick-or-treaters.  日光节约时间：糖果公司游说国会将日光节约时间延长到十一月首周，好替去讨糖的人们额外得到一小时。

They wanted it so badly that during the 1985 hearings on daylight savings, 糖果公司极度渴望这能通过，所以在 1985 年日光节约时间的听证会期间，

they put candy pumpkins on each senator's chair. 他们将糖果南瓜摆到每位议员的椅子上。

Halloween costumes: During the Celtic festival of Samhain, the dead were said to walk the earth,  万圣节服装：在凯尔特人的萨温节期间，据说亡者会回到人间，

so the Celts would wear costumes and masks to ward⁹ off or befuddle¹⁰ any evil spirits. 所以凯尔特人会穿上道具服和面具来驱散或使恶灵困惑。

Day of the Dead: People often attribute Day of the Dead, or Dia de los Muertos, as a Mexican version of Halloween.  亡灵节：人们常将亡灵节，或 Dia de los Muertos，视为墨西哥版本的万圣夜。

However, this holiday embraces death rather than fears it.  不过，这个节日接受死亡而非畏惧死亡。

On this day, the spirits of the dead return to earth,  在这天，亡灵回到人世，

guided by the aroma¹¹ of marigold and incense¹² to the shrine¹³ set up for them by their families, celebrating their return. 由万寿菊和焚香的香气指引到家人为他们设置的圣坛，庆祝亡者们的归来。

For more Halloween fun, head over to Life Noggin for the History of Trick-Or-Treating.  想知道更多万圣夜趣事，前往 Life Noggin 看《不给糖就捣蛋的历史》。

Or watch our video on tainted¹⁴ Halloween candy, or...it just might kill you. Thanks for watching. 或看看我们关于被动过手脚的万圣糖果的影片，不然的话...那糖果很可能就害死你。谢谢收看。

 

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