谈万圣节起源和历史传说_英美文化_趣味英语-查字典英语网

谈万圣节起源和历史传说

万圣节是西方传统节日。万圣节前夜，当夜幕降临，孩子们穿上五颜六色的化妆服，戴上千奇百怪的面具。有的披上漆黑长衫，骑着“魔帚”，扮作女巫；有的裹上白床单装鬼；有的戴上画有骷髅旗的帽子扮成海盗……

Halloween is an annual celebration, but just what is it actually a celebration of? And how did this peculiar custom originate? Is it, as some claim, a kind of demon worship? Or is it just a harmless vestige of some ancient pagan ritual?

The word itself, Halloween, actually has its origins in the Catholic Church. It comes from a contracted corruption of All Hallows Eve. November 1, All Hollows Day (or All Saints Day), is a Catholic day of observance in honor of saints. But, in the 5th century BC, in Celtic Ireland, summer officially ended on October 31. The holiday was called Samhain (sow-en), the Celtic New year.

One story says that, on that day, the disembodied spirits of all those who had died throughout the preceding year would come back in search of living bodies to possess for the next year. It was believed to be their only hope for the afterlife. The Celts believed all laws of space and time were suspended during this time, allowing the spirit world to intermingle with the living.

Naturally, the still-living did not want to be possessed. So on the night of October 31, villagers would extinguish the fires in their homes, to make them cold and undesirable. They would then dress up in all manner of ghoulish costumes and noisily paraded around the neighborhood, being as destructive as possible in order to frighten away spirits looking for bodies to possess.