1. The Origins of Halloween
萬圣節的起源

Halloween is thought to have originated around 4000 B.C., which means Halloween has been around for over 6,000 years as we know it today, borrow traditions from different festivals namely: the Roman feralia festival commemorating for dead, the roman Pomona festival honoring the goddess of fruit and trees, the Celtic festival Samuin, meaning “summer's end”, which comprise the bulk of origins of Halloween traditions, the Catholic Hallowmas period of “All soul's Day” and All Saint's Day which was instigated around 800 by a church to try to replace Samuin.
萬圣節起源于公元前4000年，迄今為止已經延續六千年了。萬圣節汲取了幾種不同節日的傳統：紀念死者的Feralia節、紀念果樹女神的Pomona節、凱爾特Samuin節（萬圣節的主要傳統習俗均源于此）、萬靈節，以及圣人節（公元800年時由一家教堂發起，替代之前的凱爾特Samuin節）。

2. Color
顏色

Black and orange are the international colors of Halloween. Black, of course, is a sign of death, gloom and the foreboding night, which are all associated with Halloween. Orange is a traditional emblem of fortitude, survival and power, which signify the harvest, and the colors of fall. Halloween is where death (winter) takes over from the life-giving fall harvest, hence the mixtures of black and orange come festival time.
黑色和橘紅色是萬圣節的標配。黑色，意味著死亡、憂郁，預示著夜色到來。橘紅色代表著不屈不撓、重生、力量，標志著秋收累累。萬圣節過后，死亡（冬季）取代碩果累累的秋季。因此，萬圣節的顏色是黑色和橘紅色。

3. Costumes
服裝

The custom of wearing costumes or masks comes from Celtic tradition of young men impersonating evil spirits, by dressing up in white costumes with blackened faces or masks in an attempt to placate these spirit.
萬圣節的裝扮源自凱爾特年輕人模仿幽靈的傳統，年輕人穿著白色衣服，把臉涂黑，或者帶上面具，以安撫幽靈。

4. Trick or Treat
不給糖，就搗蛋

Trick or Treating has a short history. In 19th century Scotland and Ireland, there is some records of children travelling door-to-door praying for souls or performing for money or cakes on All Hallows Eve. However, the tradition is a short step from the medieval practice of souling, in which beggars went door to door on October 31 to pray for souls in return for food. The food given was often a Soul Cake, which was a small round cake which represented a soul being freed from Purgatory when the cake was eaten. Today Trick or Treat means “gives us a treat or we'll pull a prank on you”.
“不給糖，就搗蛋”歷史較短。十九世紀，一些蘇格蘭和愛爾蘭兒童在萬圣節前夕，挨家挨戶為靈魂祈禱，或進行表演，索要餅干或小費。然而，相比于中世紀時期乞丐們在10月31日挨家挨戶地為靈魂祈禱以換取食物，這已經邁出了一小步。那時，給乞丐們的食物被稱作靈魂餅，一種小圓餅。當餅干被吃掉的時候，一個靈魂就會從煉獄中釋放出來。如今，不給糖就搗蛋的意思是“給我們糖果，不然我們就會給你來場惡作劇”。

5. Jack O'Lanterns
南瓜燈

According to Irish legend, Jack O'Lanterns are named after a man named Jack. This crafty fellow fooled the devil on numerous occasions and, as a result, his soul was condemned to hang about Earth for all eternity. Jack, barred from both heaven and hell, put the burning ember given to him by Beelzebub into the very first ”jack-o-lantern”, in order to ward off any more encounters with the Evil one.
愛爾蘭傳說中，南瓜燈以一個男人的名字Jack命名。Jack愚弄惡魔很多次，最終，他死后，靈魂被罰永世在天地間游蕩。他的亡靈既不能上天堂，也不能入地獄，只好把Beelzebub給他的蠟燭放在第一個南瓜燈內，以免自己遇到惡魔。

6. Turnips Instead of Pumpkins
蘿卜還是南瓜

The first Jack O'Lanterns were actually made from turnips by the Celts to ward off evil spirits during Samuin, The Celts would hollow out turnips then carve faces in them and place candles inside. The turnips were then either placed in the windows to keep evil spirits from encountering a home or carried around as lanterns. The tradition eventually melded with the North American tradition of carving pumpkins.
事實上，第一個南瓜燈是由白蘿卜做的。凱爾特人挖空白蘿卜，在表面雕上人臉的形狀，再把蠟燭放在里面。然后把它放在窗戶上，以免幽靈進入房間，或者隨身攜帶。后來，這一習俗和北美人民雕刻南瓜的習俗融合在一起，形成了現在的南瓜燈。

文章來源于微信公眾號：再說口語（zaishuokouyu）

（編輯：Helen）