常春藤生活英语【96】The Traditions of Halloween

Halloween is a well-known holiday all over the world even though it is not celebrated¹ in every country. The main traditions of Halloween are wearing costumes, carving² pumpkins⁴, telling stories, and going trick-or-treating1. But how did they start? Like Halloween itself, the traditions began from older customs in Ireland, Scotland, and England. Different religions have also helped shape Halloween into the holiday we know today.

Modern Halloween began as Samhain, an Irish festival that celebrates the end of harvest2. During the festival, people would wear costumes or masks to make themselves look like evil spirits.

Carving pumpkins started long ago with the Celts, who were rumored⁵ to be head hunters. They believed that on October 31, spirits walked among the living. Skulls3 of enemies were taken out and displayed on this day to scare away any evil spirits that came to the house. After the Celts stopped collecting skulls⁷, they began carving faces out of gourds4. When their descendents5 went to North America, they discovered that pumpkins were larger and easier to carve. The tradition of the jack-o'-lantern6 has been carried on ever since.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow7 tells the tale of a headless ghost that rides a horse. It wandered around the countryside with a pumpkin³ on its shoulder. Every Halloween, children enjoy being frightened by this scary story.

即使不是每个国家都会庆祝万圣节，它仍是个举世闻名的节日。万圣节主要的传统活动为变装、刻南瓜、说故事及讨糖果。不过它们是怎么开始的？正如同万圣节本身一样，这些传统源自于爱尔兰、苏格兰与英格兰境内更古老的习俗。不同的宗教信仰也有助于使万圣节成为我们今日所熟悉的节日。

现代的万圣节起源于Samhain节，这是一个庆祝收割结束的爱尔兰庆典。在庆典当中，人们会变装或戴面具，试着让自己看起来像恶灵一般。

雕刻南瓜是许久以前由凯尔特人所起，据说他们皆为猎头族（编按：凯尔特人是欧洲古老民族之一，其分布地甚广）。他们认为在十月三十一日这天，鬼魂会现身于人间。凯尔特人会将敌人的头骨拿出来展示，用以吓走任何接近民舍的恶灵。凯尔特人停止搜集头骨之后，便开始在葫芦上刻出人脸。当凯尔特人的后裔到了北美洲时，他们发现南瓜更大也更易于雕刻。自此以后，南瓜灯笼的传统也就这么延续下去。

《断头谷传奇》述说着关于一位无头幽灵骑士的故事。它的肩上顶着一颗南瓜，在乡间到处纵马驰骋。每年万圣节，孩子们都喜欢被这恐怖故事吓得直打哆嗦。

Building Your Vocabulary

1. carve　vt. 雕，刻
The couple carved their names into the tree.
那对情侣把他们的名字刻在树上。
2. display　vt. 展示，陈列
Many paintings are displayed in that gallery.
那间艺廊里展示着多幅画作。
3. wander　vi. 徘徊；漫步
Sarah wandered in the mall for hours.
莎拉在购物中心里闲逛了好几个小时。

Phrases for Learning

1. shape A into B　　将 A 塑造成 B
My father shaped me into the man I am now.
我父亲把我培养成如今这样的一个男子汉。
2. be rumored to + 原形动词　　据说∕谣传……
The young girl is rumored to have three children already.
那名年轻女子据说已有了三个小孩。
3. carry on...　　持续∕继续……
Let's carry on our discussion tomorrow.
我们明天再来继续我们的话题好了。

Extra Words

1. trick-or-treating　n. 不给糖就捣蛋（的活动）
2. harvest　n. 收割；丰收
3. skull⁶　n. 头颅骨，头骨
4. gourd⁸　n. 葫芦
5. descendent⁹　n. 后代，后裔
6. jack-o'-lantern　n. 南瓜灯笼
7. hollow　n. 山谷（= valley）

Grammar Check

Like Halloween itself, the traditions began from...
（正如同万圣节本身一样，这些传统源自于……）
Like + 名词, 主词 + 动词　　像……，……
Unlike + 名词, 主词 + 动词　　不像……，……
注意:
like（像……）和 unlike（不像……）均为介词，其后可接受词，形成介词词组作形容词用，使用时通常置于句首，修饰其后的主词；亦可作插入语，置于主词与动词之间，两旁置逗点相隔。而 unlike 虽为介词 like 的反义字，但在句首或作插入语用时，则无 not like 之用法。例：
Unlike his brother, Gary likes to listen to classical music.
= Gary, unlike his brother, likes to listen to classical music.
（不像他哥哥，盖瑞喜欢听古典音乐。）

1 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

2 carving   

n.雕刻品，雕花

参考例句：

• All the furniture in the room had much carving.房间里所有的家具上都有许多雕刻。
• He acquired the craft of wood carving in his native town.他在老家学会了木雕手艺。

3 pumpkin   

n.南瓜

参考例句：

• They ate turkey and pumpkin pie.他们吃了火鸡和南瓜馅饼。
• It looks like there is a person looking out of the pumpkin!看起来就像南瓜里有人在看着你！

4 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）

5 rumored   

adj.传说的，谣传的v.传闻( rumor的过去式和过去分词 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• It is rumored that he cheats on his wife. 据传他对他老婆不忠。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It was rumored that the white officer had been a Swede. 传说那个白人军官是个瑞典人。 来自辞典例句

6 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

7 skulls   

颅骨( skull的名词复数 )； 脑袋； 脑子； 脑瓜

参考例句：

• One of the women's skulls found exceeds in capacity that of the average man of today. 现已发现的女性颅骨中，其中有一个的脑容量超过了今天的普通男子。
• We could make a whole plain white with skulls in the moonlight! 我们便能令月光下的平原变白，遍布白色的骷髅！

8 gourd   

n.葫芦

参考例句：

• Are you going with him? You must be out of your gourd.你和他一块去？你一定是疯了。
• Give me a gourd so I can bail.把葫芦瓢给我，我好把水舀出去。

9 descendent   

adj. 下降的, 降落的, 世袭的 n. 后代，子孙 =descendant

参考例句：

• With no direct descendent, who will succeed to the title? 没有直系后裔，谁来继承爵位呢？
• He is a descendent of Queen Victoria. 他是维多利亚女王的后代。