The History of Halloween

　　Halloween is on October 31st, the last day of the Celtic calendar. It was originally a pagan holiday, honoring the dead. Halloween was referred to as All Hallows Eve and dates back to over 2000 years ago.

　　All Hallows Eve is the evening before All Saints Day, which was created by Christians to convert pagans, and is celebrated on November 1st. The Catholic church honored saints on this designated day.

　　历史上的万圣节

　　10月31日是万圣节，这也是凯尔特历的最后一天。万圣节起初是一个异教徒的节日，纪念死去的人。万圣节源于圣徒日前夜，始于2000多年前。

　　圣徒日前夜是圣徒日的前一天晚上，圣徒日在11月1日，是基督徒开创的节日，用来劝说异教徒皈依基督，天主教堂在这一天纪念圣徒们。

万圣节英语作文 The Origin of Halloween

The Origin of Halloween

　　While there are many versions of the origins and old customs of Halloween, some remain consistent by all accounts. Different cultures view Holloween somewhat differently but traditional Halloween practices remain the same.

　　Halloween culture can be traced back to the Druids, a Celtic culture in Ireland, Britain and Northern Europe. Roots lay in the feast of Samhain, which was annually on October 31st to honor the dead.

　　Samhain signifies "summers end" or November. Samhain was a harvest festival with huge sacred bonfires, marking the end of the Celtic year and beginning of a new one. Many of the practices involved in this celebration were fed on superstition.

　　The Celts believed the souls of the dead roamed the streets and villages at night. Since not all spirits were thought to be friendly, gifts and treats were left out to pacify the evil and ensure next years crops would be plentiful. This custom evolved into trick-or-treating.

　　万圣节的起源

　　尽管关于万圣节的起源和旧俗有很多不同的看法，但有一些是被所有人接受的。不同文化看待万圣节总是有点不同，但是传统的万圣节做的事情都是一样的。

　　万圣节文化可以追溯到德鲁伊教，这是一种爱尔兰、北欧和英国的凯尔特文化，根植于Samhain节的庆祝活动，Samhain节于每年的10月31日纪念逝者。

　　Samhain节说明夏天结束或者十一月，是一个丰收的节日。在Samhain节会燃起神圣巨大的篝火，标志着凯尔特一年的结束和新一年的开始。一些做法因为迷信被加入庆祝活动中。

　　凯尔特人相信死者的灵魂会在夜里出没在街道和村庄。因为他们认为不是所有的灵魂都是友善的，所以就把礼物和好吃的留在外面安慰恶灵来确保来年的庄稼可以丰收。这种习俗演变成了trick-or-treating。

万圣节英语作文 What Is Halloween?

WHAT IS HALLOWEEN?

　　Halloween is a holiday celebrated on October 31. By tradition, Halloween begins after sunset. Long ago, people believed that witches gathered together and ghosts roamed the world on Halloween. Today, most people no longer believe in ghosts and witches. But these supernatural beings are still a part of Halloween.

　　The colors black and orange are also a part of Halloween. Black is a symbol for night and orange is the color of pumpkins. A jack-o'-lantern is a hollowed-out pumpkin with a face carved on one side. Candles are usually placed inside, giving the face a spooky glow.

万圣节英语作文 The Taditional Halloween

Halloween originated as a celebration connected with evil spirits. Witches flying on broomsticks with ghosts, goblins and skeletons have all evolved as symbols of Halloween. Bats, owls and other nocturnal animals are also popular symbols of Halloween. They were originally feared because people believed that these creatures could communicate with the spirits of the dead.

　　Black cats are also symbols of Halloween and have religious origins as well. Black cats were considered to be reincarnated beings with the ability to divine the future. During the Middle Ages it was believed that witches could turn themselves into black cats. Thus when such a cat was seen, it was considered to be a witch in disguise. All these are popular trick-or-treat costumes and decorations for greeting cards and windows.

　　Black is one of the traditional Halloween colors, probably because Halloween festivals and traditions took place at night.

　　Pumpkins are also a symbol of Halloween. The pumpkin is an orange-colored squash, and orange has become the other traditional Halloween color. Carving pumpkins into jack- o'-lanterns is a Halloween custom also dating back to Ireland. A legend grew up about a man named Jack who was so stingy that he was not allowed into heaven when he died, because he was a miser. He couldn't enter hell either because he had played jokes on the devil. As a result, Jack had to walk on the earth with his lantern until Judgement Day. So Jack and his lantern became the symbol of a lost or damned soul. To scare these souls away on Halloween, the Irish people carved scary faces out of turnips, beets or potatoes representing "Jack of the Lantern", or Jack-o-lantern. When the Irish brought their customs to the United States, they carved faces on pumpkins because in the autumn they were more plentiful than turnips. Today jack-o-lanterns in the windows of a house on Halloween night let costumed children know that there are goodies waiting if they knock and say "Trick or Treat!"

　　【参考译文】

　　万圣节前夜起源于与邪恶幽灵相关的庆祝活动，所以骑着扫帚的女巫、幽灵、小妖精和骷髅都是万圣节的标志物。蝙蝠、猫头鹰和其他夜间活动的动物也是万圣节的普遍标志。起初，这些动物让人觉得非常可怕，因为人们认为这些动物能和死者的幽灵进行交流。

　　黑猫也是万圣节的标志物，并且也有一定的宗教起源。人们认为黑猫可以转生，具有预言未来的超能力。在中世纪，人们认为女巫可以变成黑猫，所以人们一看到黑猫就会认为它是女巫假扮的。这些标志物都是万圣节服装的普遍选择，也是贺卡或橱窗上很常用的装饰。

　　黑色是传统的万圣节颜色，这可能是因为万圣节前夜的各种传统或仪式都是在晚上举行。

　　南瓜也是万圣节的标志性象征。南瓜是橘黄色的，所以橘黄色也成了传统的万圣节颜色。用南瓜雕制南瓜灯也是一个万圣节传统，其历史也可追溯到爱尔兰。传说有一个名叫杰克的人非常吝啬，因而死后不能进入天堂，而且因为他取笑魔鬼也不能进入地狱，所以，他只能提着灯笼四处游荡，直到审判日那天。于是，杰克和南瓜灯便成了被诅咒的游魂的象征。人们为了在万圣节前夜吓走这些游魂，便用芜菁、甜菜或马铃薯雕刻成可怕的面孔来代表提着灯笼的杰克，这就是南瓜灯（Jack-o'-lantern）的由来。爱尔兰人迁到美国后，便开始用南瓜来进行雕刻，因为在美国秋天的时候南瓜比芜菁更充足。现在，如果在万圣节的晚上人们在窗户上挂上南瓜灯就表明那些穿着万圣节服装的人可以来敲门捣鬼要糖果。

万圣节英语作文 the Most Popular Festival

　Halloween is for the "All Hallow's Evening". However, due to various reasons, Halloween has become the year's most popular and one of the most popular festivals, and many players with great enthusiasm to celebrate this holiday.

　　Halloween in the October 31, in fact, praise and autumn festivals like Beltane is the festival of spring like the praise. Of ancient Gaul, Britain and Ireland priest - druid to have a grand festival praise of autumn, from October 31 beginning at midnight the following day, November 1 continued all day. In their view, that night they are a great Death - Salman to that year were all summoned the ghost of dead people, these evil spirits are subject to care for the Livestock Health and punishment. Of course, as long as the thought of such a gathering of ghosts, it was enough to make fools of those simple-minded understanding of the heart bile war. So they lit the sky of the bonfire, and close surveillance of these evil spirits.

　　Halloween witches and ghosts everywhere to say is just the beginning. So far in Europe, there are some isolated areas where people believe it is true. Ancient Rome in November 1 there is also a holiday, which is used to pay tribute to their goddess of Bo Mona. They bear ribs roasted nuts and apples before the bonfire. Our own Halloween seems to be a holiday by the Romans and the druid's holiday blend made of. Halloween activities in the original is very simple, and mostly in the church carried out. However, in the whole of Europe, it is regarded as a Halloween enjoy slapstick, Jiangguigushi and a good opportunity to scare each other. So people will no longer be used to praise this Autumn Festival, but it becomes supernatural, witches and ghosts festival.