欧美人文风情第187篇:万圣夜起源故事

 Five Real-Life Halloween Origin Stories 五则真实的万圣夜起源故事

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。

 

1 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

2 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

3 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

4 turnip   

n.萝卜，芜菁

参考例句：

• The turnip provides nutrition for you.芜菁为你提供营养。
• A turnip is a root vegetable.芜菁是根茎类植物。

5 turnips   

芜青( turnip的名词复数 )； 芜菁块根； 芜菁甘蓝块根； 怀表

参考例句：

• Well, I like turnips, tomatoes, eggplants, cauliflowers, onions and carrots. 噢，我喜欢大萝卜、西红柿、茄子、菜花、洋葱和胡萝卜。 来自魔法英语-口语突破（高中）
• This is turnip soup, made from real turnips. 这是大头菜汤，用真正的大头菜做的。

6 beets   

甜菜( beet的名词复数 )； 甜菜根； （因愤怒、难堪或觉得热而）脸红

参考例句：

• Beets are Hank's favorite vegetable. 甜菜根是汉克最爱吃的蔬菜。
• In this enlargement, barley, alfalfa, and sugar beets can be differentiated. 在这张放大的照片上，大麦，苜蓿和甜菜都能被区分开。

7 pumpkins   

n.南瓜( pumpkin的名词复数 )；南瓜的果肉，南瓜囊

参考例句：

• I like white gourds, but not pumpkins. 我喜欢吃冬瓜，但不喜欢吃南瓜。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they cut faces in the pumpkins and put lights inside. 然后在南瓜上刻出一张脸，并把瓜挖空。 来自英语晨读30分（高三）

8 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

9 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

10 befuddle   

v.使混乱

参考例句：

• This is clearly designed to befuddle the public.这显然是为了蒙蔽舆论。
• Don't befuddle me with all those masses of detail.不要拿一大堆琐事把我搞迷糊。

11 aroma   

n.香气，芬芳，芳香

参考例句：

• The whole house was filled with the aroma of coffee.满屋子都是咖啡的香味。
• The air was heavy with the aroma of the paddy fields.稻花飘香。

12 incense   

v.激怒；n.香，焚香时的烟，香气

参考例句：

• This proposal will incense conservation campaigners.这项提议会激怒环保人士。
• In summer,they usually burn some coil incense to keep away the mosquitoes.夏天他们通常点香驱蚊。

13 shrine   

n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣

参考例句：

• The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。
• They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。

14 tainted   

adj.腐坏的；污染的；沾污的；感染的v.使变质( taint的过去式和过去分词 )；使污染；败坏；被污染，腐坏，败坏

参考例句：

• The administration was tainted with scandal. 丑闻使得政府声名狼藉。
• He was considered tainted by association with the corrupt regime. 他因与腐败政府有牵连而名誉受损。 来自《简明英汉词典》