Halloween is a holiday observed¹ on the evening of October 31 in most areas of North America and in someareasofWestern Europe.The word \"Halloween\" comes from\"All Hallows' Eve.\"November 1， \"All Hallows' Day\" (or All Saints'Day\")， is a Catholic ( 天主教的 ) festival observed in honour² of all saints. All Souls'Day， observed on November 2 to help purify³ the spirits of the dead， is also closely linked to Halloween.

Most Halloween customs are based on folk beliefs concerning supernatural (超自然的)forces and spirits of the dead. Halloween decorations(裝飾) are typically images of supernatural beings such as witches， werewolves（狼人）， vampires， goblins (小妖怪)， and ghosts. Images thought to symbolize bad omens⁴ such as black cats， bats， owls and spiders——are also commonly used as Halloween decorations. People once believed that ghosts roameds the earth on Halloween. They also thought that all witches met On October 31 to worship⁶ the Devil.Today， most people do not believe in ghosts or witches， but these su- pernatural beings remain symbols of Halloween.

One of the traditions popular on the night of Halloween is trick-or-treat， the main Halloween activity for most children in the United States.Britain imported⁷ the custom from America in the early 1980s.On Halloween many children wear ghost costumes⁸ and masks or witches'hats and go from door to door to ask their neighbours for candy by saying \"Trick or Treat!\"The saying implies that if the people in the house give the children a\"treat\"， then the children will notplayatrickon them. The neighbors， to avoid having tricks played on them， give the children such treats as candy， fruit， and pennies.

ThemostcelebratedHalloweendecorationisthe jack-o' -lantern (把南瓜挖空并雕成人面形的杰克燈)， traditionally a pumpkin(南瓜) that has been hollowed out and carved⁹ to resemble a grotesque（奇形怪狀的）face.Most jack-o'-lanterns contain a candle or some other light，which makes the face visible from far away.People in England and Ireland once carved out beets(甜菜根)， potatoes， and turnips(蕪菁) to use as lanterns on Halloween.After this custom reached America， pumpkins began to be used.

Dressing in costume is also one of the most popular Halloween customs，especially among children.Traditional costumes usually represent witches， ghosts， and other supernatural beings. However， costumes inspired by contemporary（當(dāng)代的） popular culture， such as politicians or movie characters， have become increasingly common in recent years. Adults often favor costumes with satirical¹⁰or humorous overtones(含蓄之意).

注釋：

1．observevt．慶祝，過(節(jié)日、生日等)

2．honourn．敬意，尊敬…”of為慶?！?，為紀(jì)念…

3．purifyvt．凈化，使純凈

4．omenn．預(yù)兆，征兆

5．roamvt．漫游，在…來回走動(dòng)

6．worship vt．敬奉

7．import vt．引進(jìn)，進(jìn)口

8．costumen．BB裝，戲裝

9．carvevt．雕刻，刻

10．satirical adj．諷刺的，含諷刺的

北美的大部分和西歐部分地區(qū)在10月31日晚間慶祝萬圣節(jié)前夜。英文“Halloween”一詞源于“All Hallows' Eve”。11月1日是萬圣節(jié)，天主教紀(jì)念所有圣徒的節(jié)日。11月2日是萬靈節(jié)，幫助所有死者凈化靈魂的節(jié)日，與萬圣節(jié)前夜的關(guān)系也較密切。

萬圣節(jié)前夜的大部分習(xí)俗與民間對(duì)妖魔和鬼魂的迷信有關(guān)。節(jié)日的典型裝飾是女巫、狼人、吸血鬼、妖怪和鬼魂的形象。還有代表兇兆的一些動(dòng)物形象，如黑貓、蝙蝠、貓頭鷹和蜘蛛也是十分流行的裝飾。人們?cè)?jīng)認(rèn)為，鬼魂在萬圣節(jié)前夜返回人間，四處游蕩，所有的巫師巫婆在此日敬奉鬼怪。如今大多數(shù)人不再迷信，但仍把妖魔鬼怪作為此節(jié)的象征。

萬圣節(jié)前夜一個(gè)流行的習(xí)俗是“不請(qǐng)吃就搗蛋”游戲，這是萬圣節(jié)前夜大多數(shù)美國孩子的主要活動(dòng)，英國于20世紀(jì)80年代初從美國引入了這一習(xí)俗。這天晚上，許多孩子穿起鬼魂的服裝，戴著面具或巫師的帽子到鄰人家挨家挨戶要糖吃，嘴里說著：“不給糖，要遭殃！”意思是如果人家不給糖，就會(huì)遭到戲弄。鄰人們?yōu)榱吮苊夂⒆觽兺鎼鹤鲃。蜁?huì)給孩子們一些糖果、水果或零錢把他們打發(fā)走。

萬圣節(jié)前夜最流行的裝飾物是南瓜燈。傳統(tǒng)的南瓜燈是掏空的南瓜，上面雕刻出一張奇形怪狀的人臉，里面大多點(diǎn)上蠟燭或別的發(fā)光的東西，使這張臉遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)就能看到。英格蘭和愛爾蘭人曾在萬圣節(jié)前夜用甜菜根、土豆和蕪菁雕刻成燈籠。這一習(xí)俗傳人美國后，就成了南瓜燈。

萬圣節(jié)前夜的俗例之一是穿節(jié)日的特殊服裝，孩子們更是如此。傳統(tǒng)的服裝是巫師、鬼魂或其他妖魔鬼怪的裝束，但受當(dāng)代流行文化的影響，政客與電影人物的裝束近年來也愈加常見。成年人更喜歡帶有諷刺和幽默意味的服裝。