1. The Origins of Halloween

万圣节的起源

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 commemorating¹ for dead, the roman Pomona festival honoring the goddess of fruit and trees, the Celtic festival Samuin, meaning “summer's end”, which comprise the bulk² of origins of Halloween traditions, the Catholic Hallowmas period of “All soul's Day” and All Saint's Day which was instigated³ around 800 by a church to try to replace Samuin.

万圣节起源于公元前4000年，迄今为止已经延续六千年了。万圣节汲取了几种不同节日的传统：纪念死者的Feralia节、纪念果树女神的Pomona节、凯尔特Samuin节（万圣节的主要传统习俗均源于此）、万灵节，以及圣人节（公元800年时由一家教堂发起，替代之前的凯尔特Samuin节）。

2. Color

颜色

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 emblem⁴ of fortitude⁵, 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.

黑色和橘红色是万圣节的标配。黑色，意味着死亡、忧郁，预示着夜色到来。橘红色代表着不屈不挠、重生、力量，标志着秋收累累。万圣节过后，死亡（冬季）取代硕果累累的秋季。因此，万圣节的颜色是黑色和橘红色。

3. Costumes

服装

The custom of wearing costumes or masks comes from Celtic tradition of young men impersonating evil spirits, by dressing⁶ up in white costumes with blackened faces or masks in an attempt to placate⁷ these spirit.

万圣节的装扮源自凯尔特年轻人模仿幽灵的传统，年轻人穿着白色衣服，把脸涂黑，或者带上面具，以安抚幽灵。

4. Trick or Treat

不给糖，就捣蛋

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 Purgatory⁸ when the cake was eaten. Today Trick or Treat means “gives us a treat or we'll pull a prank⁹ on you”.

“不给糖，就捣蛋”历史较短。十九世纪，一些苏格兰和爱尔兰儿童在万圣节前夕，挨家挨户为灵魂祈祷，或进行表演，索要饼干或小费。然而，相比于中世纪时期乞丐们在10月31日挨家挨户地为灵魂祈祷以换取食物，这已经迈出了一小步。那时，给乞丐们的食物被称作灵魂饼，一种小圆饼。当饼干被吃掉的时候，一个灵魂就会从炼狱中释放出来。如今，不给糖就捣蛋的意思是“给我们糖果，不然我们就会给你来场恶作剧”。

5. Jack¹⁰ O'Lanterns

南瓜灯

According to Irish legend, Jack O'Lanterns are named after a man named Jack. This crafty¹¹ fellow fooled the devil on numerous occasions and, as a result, his soul was condemned¹² to hang about Earth for all eternity¹³. 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 ward¹⁴ off any more encounters with the Evil one.

爱尔兰传说中，南瓜灯以一个男人的名字Jack命名。Jack愚弄恶魔很多次，最终，他死后，灵魂被罚永世在天地间游荡。他的亡灵既不能上天堂，也不能入地狱，只好把Beelzebub给他的蜡烛放在第一个南瓜灯内，以免自己遇到恶魔。

6. Turnips¹⁵ Instead of Pumpkins¹⁶

萝卜还是南瓜

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 carving¹⁷ pumpkins.

事实上，第一个南瓜灯是由白萝卜做的。凯尔特人挖空白萝卜，在表面雕上人脸的形状，再把蜡烛放在里面。然后把它放在窗户上，以免幽灵进入房间，或者随身携带。后来，这一习俗和北美人民雕刻南瓜的习俗融合在一起，形成了现在的南瓜灯。