Broom and Sweeping Superstitions1

關(guān)于掃帚和打掃的迷信

The broom and sweepinghave been connected tosymbolism for centuries.In Ancient times thebrooms in the temple weresacred2 and only those withclean hands were allowed touse them.

It matters how you sweep according tosuperstition. You must always start by thedoor and sweep your dust inwards. Afteryou have gathered all your dust you maycarry it outside to the trash. It is told if yousweep your dust outwards towards the frontdoor you will sweep your luck away.

幾個(gè)世紀(jì)以來，掃帚和打掃一直與象征意義聯(lián)系在一起。

在古代，寺廟里的掃帚是神圣的，只有手干凈的人才可以使用。

根據(jù)迷信說法，如何進(jìn)行清掃很重要。你必須始終從門口開始，把灰塵往里掃。掃完所有的灰塵后，你可以把它帶到外面的垃圾桶里。據(jù)說，如果你把灰塵向外掃向前門，你的運(yùn)氣就會被掃走。

During the Middle Ages sweepingwithout permission3 could upset manypeople. It was common superstition that ifsomeone else swept the dust from your frontdoor they would sweep away your good luck.

In some places in South Americathey take an extra precaution4 whensweeping the outside doorway. Before theystart their sweeping job， they fill a bucketwith warm water and basil5 leaves. Soak6the broom in the bucket and sweep away.This is supposed to bring luck into thehome. They say it is extra lucky if you doit nine days in a row. Yet others say youshould dip your broom into cinnamon7water. That should bring luck.

Old superstition tells us you betternot sweep over the feet of a person who issingle. If you do that person will nevermarry. If that person remembers toimmediately spit on the broom the“spell”is broken.

Wait a couple hours after yourovernight guest has left before sweepingthe guestroom. Superstitious believes statethat if you immediately sweep room rightafter the guest has left， the guest willnever return for another visit.

在中世紀(jì)，未經(jīng)允許的清掃可能會讓許多人感到不安。人們普遍迷信地認(rèn)為，如果有人把你前門的灰塵掃掉，他們就會把你的好運(yùn)掃走。

在南美洲的一些地方，他們在打掃門外時(shí)會采取額外的預(yù)防措施。在開始清掃工作之前，他們先在桶里裝滿溫水和羅勒葉。把掃帚泡在桶里，然后進(jìn)行打掃。這應(yīng)該會給家里帶來好運(yùn)。他們說，如果你連續(xù)九天這樣做，那就會格外幸運(yùn)。但也有人說你應(yīng)該把掃帚浸在肉桂水里。那樣應(yīng)該會帶來好運(yùn)。

古老的迷信告訴我們，最好不要從單身人士的腳上掃過。如果這樣做，那個(gè)人就永遠(yuǎn)結(jié)不了婚。如果那個(gè)人記得立即在掃帚上吐口水，“咒語”就會被打破。

等過夜的客人離開后幾個(gè)小時(shí)再打掃客房。迷信的說法是，如果你在客人離開后立即打掃房間，客人就不會再來拜訪了。

In Europe it was told it was veryunlucky to sweep your home after dark.

In England there was an oldsuperstition in the 19th and 20th centurythat you should never bring a new broominto the home during the month of May.The reason is that the trees from whichbrooms were made start to blossom8 inMay. That would be inviting bad luck.Some took it one step further and refusedto sweep during the month of May. Thiswas all bad news for broom sellers.

Many Chinese who areprone9 to superstition will neversweep in their home the first twodays of the Chinese New Year.That would be like sweeping allgood luck away from the homefor the coming year.

在歐洲，據(jù)說天黑后打掃家里很不吉利。

在19 世紀(jì)和20 世紀(jì)，英國有一種古老的迷信，認(rèn)為在五月，絕對不能把新掃帚帶回家。原因是制造掃帚的樹木在五月開始開花，這會招致厄運(yùn)。有些人更進(jìn)一步，拒絕在五月清掃。這對賣掃帚的人來說都是壞消息。

許多容易講迷信的中國人在大年初一和大年初二絕不掃地。那無異于把來年所有的好運(yùn)都從家里掃走一樣。

Storing Your Broom

存放掃帚

When you put away your broom，always place it with the bristles10 up.According to old superstition this act wasa protective and good luck symbol.

It makes sense if we disregard thesuperstitious aspect. Placing your broomwith the bristles up when you are notusing it will help ensure the bristles arein good condition longer.

當(dāng)收起掃帚的時(shí)候，你一定要把掃帚毛朝上放。根據(jù)古老的迷信，這種行為是一種保護(hù)和好運(yùn)的象征。

如果我們不考慮迷信的一面，那也是有道理的。不使用掃帚時(shí)，將掃帚毛朝上放置，有助于確保掃帚毛在更長時(shí)間內(nèi)保持良好狀態(tài)。

A New Broom for a New Home

新家的新掃帚

If you plan on moving， never packyour broom. It is bad luck to move an oldbroom into a new home. Always buy a newbroom for your new residence11.

If you want to get extra lucky， makesure the new broom is in placebefore you move in. Also besure to sweep something intothe new home with your newbroom before you sweep dustout of the home.

如果你打算搬家，千萬別打包掃帚。把一把舊掃帚搬進(jìn)新家是不吉利的。一定要為你的新居買一把新掃帚。

如果你想變得格外幸運(yùn)，請確保新掃帚在你搬進(jìn)來之前就位。另外，在你把家里的灰塵掃出去之前，一定要用你的新掃帚把一些東西掃到新家里。

The Wood of the Broomstick

制作掃帚的木材

Old tradition has it that the wood thebroom was made of mattered.

Oak12 wood represented power， strength，and protection. Oak was the sacred tree of theNorse13 god Thor and the Greek god Zeus.

Ash14 wood was for protection of thehome. In Norse mythology15 the World Treewas an ash tree. According to Norsemythology the first man was created from thewood of the ash tree. On a side note it was alsobelieved that broomsticks made from ashwood would help witches fly faster.

古老的傳統(tǒng)認(rèn)為制作掃帚的木材很重要。

橡木代表權(quán)力、力量和保護(hù)。橡樹是挪威神托爾和希臘神宙斯的神樹。

白蠟?zāi)臼怯脕肀Ｗo(hù)房子的。在挪威神話中，世界樹是一棵白蠟樹。根據(jù)挪威神話，第一個(gè)人是從白蠟?zāi)局薪瞪?。另一方面，人們還認(rèn)為用白蠟?zāi)局瞥傻膾咧憧梢詭椭罪w得更快。

A broomstick made from redwoodsymbolized longevity16. The reason quiteobvious as redwood trees can live for a fewthousand years.

Beech17 wood symbolizes prosperity18and stability.

Wood from the walnut19 tree representedgood health.

Wood from the pine tree was simply goodluck to the household. It was also rumored20that the pine wood could keep ghosts out.

Maple21 wood was supposed to bring loveand prosperity into the home. In Asia the mapleleaf represents lovers.

紅杉木掃帚象征著長壽。原因顯而易見，因?yàn)榧t杉樹可以存活幾千年。

山毛櫸象征著繁榮和穩(wěn)定。

胡桃木代表健康。

松木對家庭來說的確是吉利的。也有傳言說松木可以驅(qū)鬼。

楓木被認(rèn)為能給家里帶來愛和繁榮。在亞洲，楓葉代表戀人。

（英語原文選自：goodlucksymbols.com）