趣味阅读 万圣节编年史

Halloween, or All Hallows’ Eve, a holiday celebrated on the night of October 31, is a mix of ancient Celtic practices, Catholic religious rituals and European folk traditions that blended together over time to create the holiday we know today at last.

万圣节，或圣徒日前夜，是每年10月31日晚上庆祝的节日，在其形成过程中逐渐融合了凯尔特习俗、天主教仪式和欧洲民间传统，最终形成了我们今天所见的这样一个节日。

Shades: Throughout ancient history, Shades were regarded as the spirit of a dead person, residing in the underworld.

Carving gourds into elaborately decorated lanterns dates back to Africa thousands of years ago.

幽灵：远古时期，人们认为幽灵是生活在地下世界的死者的灵魂。

将葫芦精雕细刻、做成灯笼的习俗可追溯到几千年前的非洲。

The ancient Celts believed that wearing masks would ward off evil spirits.

古凯尔特人相信戴上面具可以避开邪灵。

Samhain: The Festival of Samhain is a celebration of the end of the Gaelic (Celts of Scotland and Ireland) harvest season.

萨温节：萨温节是盖尔人（苏格兰和爱尔兰的凯尔特人）庆祝丰收季节结束的节日。

Gaels believed that the border between this world and the other world became thin on Samhain; because animals and plants were dying, it allowed the dead to reach back through the veil that separated them from the living.

Bonfires played a major role in the Festival of Samhain. Celebrants wore costumes, mostly made from animal skins and heads, and danced around bonfires.

By A.D.43, Romans had conquered most of the Celtic territory. Two Roman festivals were then combined with the Celtic celebration of Samhain: Feralia, a day in late October when Romans commemorated the passing of the dead, and a day to honor Pomona, Roman goddess of fruit and trees.

Werewolf: The original werewolf of classical mythology, Lycaon, a king of Arcadia who, according to Ancient Roman Poet Ovid’s The Metamorphoses, was turned into a ravenous wolf by Zeus because of provoking him. Possibly the source of the term “lycanthropy” is derived from this story.

盖尔人相信，在萨温节，现世与冥界的边界会逐渐消失。动物和植物纷纷死去，而死者将穿过把他们同生者隔开的面纱重回世间。

篝火对于死神节来说是必不可少的。参加庆典的人们穿上动物的皮毛和头颅做成的服装，围着篝火舞蹈。

公元43年，罗马人占领了凯尔特人的大部分领土，并将两个罗马节日与萨温节的传统结合起来：一个是罗马人纪念死者的Feralia节（十月末的一天），另一个是纪念罗马的果树女神Pomona的节日。

狼人：古罗马诗人奥维德在他的《变形记》中描绘了古典神话中狼人的原型――阿卡迪亚王吕卡翁，由于触怒天神宙斯而被变成了一匹狼。也许“变狼妄想狂”一词就是来源于这个故事。

In the Roman Catholic church, a commemoration of “All Martyrs” was celebrated between mid-April and early May.

在每年四月中旬到五月初这段时间，罗马天主教会庆祝一个名为“众殉道者节”的纪念性节日。

The festival of All Siants dates to May 13 in 609 or 610, when Pope Boniface IV consecrated the Pantheon in Rome.

This date was an ancient pegan observation―the end of the Feast of the Lemures, in which the evil and restless spirits of all the dead were appeased.

众圣人节要追溯到公元609或610年的5月13日，教皇卜尼法斯四世为罗马万神殿祝圣。

这一日期原本是古老的异教节日――勒姆瑞斯节（夜游魂节）的末尾，在这一节日期间人们会安抚那些邪恶且永不安宁的亡魂。

Pope Gregory III designated November 1st All Saints’ Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs.

Many believe the pope was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holiday.

教皇格列高利三世将每年11月1日定为“众圣人节”，以此纪念圣人和殉道者。

人们相信，教皇此举是为了用一个教会认可的节日来替代凯尔特的亡者之节日。

The Catholic church made November 2nd All Souls’ Day, a day to honor the dead.

The three Catholic celebrations―the Eve of All Saints’ Day, All Saints’ Day, and All Souls’ Day, were called Hallowmas ever since.

天主教会将每年11月2日定为“万灵节”，以纪念亡者。

至此，天主教的三大节日――众圣人节前夜，众圣人节，万灵节，被统称为“Hallowmas”（即“万圣节”之意）。

Carved turnips in Ireland and Scotland are used as candle lanterns in windows to ward off evil spirits.

Another tradition involved in “Soul Cakes”: Soul cakes, often simply referred to as souls, were given out to soulers (mainly consisting of children and the poor) who would go from door to door on Hallowmas singing and saying prayers for the dead, and people would give them pastries named “Soul Cakes” as their rewards. It is said that each cake eaten would represent a soul being freed from Purgatory.

在爱尔兰和苏格兰，人们将芜菁（形似萝卜）雕刻成灯笼放在窗台上，以此抵挡邪灵。

另一项传统习俗涉及“灵魂饼”：灵魂饼，通常简称为灵魂。在万圣节期间，灵者（主要是小孩和穷人）会挨家挨户地唱歌并为死者祈祷，人们则给他们一种被称作“灵魂饼”的点心作为报酬。据说每吃掉一个“灵魂饼”，就会有一个灵魂被从炼狱中拯救出来。