万圣节的含义英文

万圣节的意义英文

万圣节是西方的一个传统节日，但是万圣节有什么意义呢?下面就由我来跟大家介绍一下吧!

Halloween, or Hallowe’en, is a holiday celebrated on the night of October 31.

Halloween activities include trick-or-treating, ghost tours, bonfires, costume parties, visiting "haunted houses", carving Jack-o'-lanterns, reading scary stories and watching horror movies.

Irish immigrants carried versions of the tradition to North America in the nineteenth century.

Other western countries embraced the holiday in the late twentieth century. Halloween is celebrated in several countries of the Western world, most commonly in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Ireland, Puerto Rico, Japan, New Zealand, and occasionally in parts of Australia. In Sweden the All Saints' official holiday takes place on the first Saturday of November.

Halloween has its origins in the ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain. The festival of Samhain is a celebration of the end of the harvest season in Gaelic culture, and is sometimes regarded as the "Celtic New Year".

Traditionally, the festival was a time used by the ancient pagans to take stock of supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores.

The ancient Gaels believed that on October 31, now known as Halloween, the boundary between the alive and the deceased dissolved, and the dead become dangerous for the living by causing problems such as sickness or damaged crops.

The festivals would frequently involve bonfires, into which bones of slaughtered livestock were thrown.

Costumes and masks were also worn at the festivals in an attempt to mimic the evil spirits or placate them.

Along with the celebration of Halloween itself, the traditional Halloween symbols (witches, black cats, pumpkins, ghosts, candles, masks, etc.), found their way to the U.S. during the late 1800s.

In 1848, the potato famine sent millions of Irish immigrants streaming into America, bringing with them a new culture and customs.

In the manner of their Celtic ancestors, they celebrated Halloween, calling it Oidche Shamhna ('Night of Samhain'), and kept up the traditional observances associated with it.

Jack-o-lantern：

The jack-o-lantern has been an indispensable part of the Halloween tradition since the Victorian era, thanks again to our Irish friends.

On Halloween, jack-o-lanterns carved into a scary or funny face with a lighted candle placed inside, are set out on porches or placed in windows, but where once they were created in the hope of frightening away evil spirits that were on the prowl, now they are just a part of the celebration.

Originally, back on their home turf, the Irish would carve out turnips or beets to use as lanterns and use a burning lump of coal or a candle to light them.

Here in America, however, turnips weren't as easy to come by, but there were pumpkins aplenty.

So they substituted pumpkins and discovered that they served the purpose quite nicely.

While there are many legends pertaining to the origin of the Jack-o-lantern, one of the most widely accepted is that of "Stingy Jack."

An Irishman known as a drunken trickster, Jack wound up on the wrong side of both God and the devil. Upon his death his soul was forbidden to enter either heaven or hell and so was doomed to wander the earth in eternal darkness forever.

On his endless travels he carries a turnip with a burning coal to light his way. Fearing this unsavory character, the Irish of old would put jack-o-lanterns on prominent display around their homes on All Hallow's Eve, the purpose being that should Jack happen by, hopefully he would take the light instead of harming the occupants of the house.

Black Cats：

Throughout history black cats have been considered to be spiritual animals by many peoples.

Some have worshiped them believing they have the ability to see spirits. Others have believed them to be reincarnated beings who could predict the future. Over the centuries black cats have also been much maligned.

It was believed that witches owned black cats because they were able to assist them in performing their witchcraft and because they sensed a kindred spirit of darkness within these animals.

During the Middle Ages black cats were feared because it was believed that witches could turn themselves into black cats. Whenever a black cat was seen it was avoided at all costs because it was perceived to be a witch in disguise.

Unfortunately for them, during this time black cats were regularly hunted down and burned alive.

Bats：

Since bats are creepy nocturnal creatures, it's not surprising that they became known as omens of bad luck or evil but there is more to the story concerning their association with Halloween.

The origins of the fear of bats began with the belief that they could communicate with the spirits of the dead, making their link to Halloween seem perfectly natural.

As if to confirm this theory, in ancient times when Halloween was celebrated with huge bonfires it was a guarantee that bats would make an appearance, as if drawn by supernatural forces.

Actually this was a result of the many mosquitoes that would congregate around the fires, providing an easy snack for the bats who would swoop down and snatch them out of the air.

In addition, there was the widely held belief that vampires and witches could transform themselves into bats.

Incidentally, the vampire bat is the only mammal that feeds on blood, thus linking bats to death and sealing their fate as terrifying creatures of the night.

Witches：

Witches and witchcraft go hand-in-hand with Halloween. The image of a witch in black pointed hat riding a broomstick across the night sky is branded in every child's imagination.

In ancient times it was widely believed that witches were able to see the future and to cast spells, both good and bad.

This naturally made people fear and loath them. Since it was believed that supernatural powers were at their peak on Halloween night, it has caused witches to be forever associated with that time of year.

What made things worse for witches was a belief that flourished in the Middle Ages. With Halloween already considered a frightening time, people developed a belief in the existence of a cult of witches who worshiped Satan.

They held meetings at certain times of the year called Witches Sabbaths, and the most important of these was on All Hallows' Eve.

It was then that the Prince of Darkness, old Satan himself would appear to his loyal followers.

Ghosts：

The connection of ghosts with Halloween evolved with the ancient Celts, who celebrated Samhain -- the festival of the dead -- on the eve of their new year which began November 1st.

Their belief held that spirits of the dead could return to earth as the boundaries between the lands of the living and the dead were blurred during this time.

So it seems only right that ghosts became an integral part of Halloween.

Apples：

Apparently the reason for the custom of ducking, dooking or bobbing for apples -- attempting to bite an apple floating in a bucket of water, or hanging from a string -- was that if a person managed to get a bite from an apple they would have good fortune.

For unmarried people, the first person to take a bite out of an apple was considered to be the next to marry.

Also, peeling an apple and tossing the peel over your shoulder was supposed to reveal the initial of one's future spouse.

Masks and Costumes：

The custom of wearing costumes, although done in a more cheerful manner nowadays, originated with the Celts.

While celebrating Samhain the Celts would wear costumes made from animal skins.

This was in accordance with their belief that during this time the veil between the world of the dead and earth was at its thinnest and, ancestral spirits, or ghosts could roam freely here on earth.

They hoped that the costumes would make them appear dead to avoid being harassed by these spirits.

Wearing costumes and masks for Halloween became popular here in America in the early 1900s.

Stores began carrying Halloween costumes in the 1950s when trick-or-treating became popular throughout the United States.