北美的大部分和西歐部分地區在 10 月 31 日晚間慶祝萬聖節前夜。下面是小編整理的有關西方萬聖節的英文介紹，一起來看一下吧!
Halloween is a holiday observed 1 on the evening of October 31 in most areas of North America and in some areas of Western 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 honour 2 of all saints. All Souls' Day, observed on November 2 to help purify 3 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 omens 4 — such as black cats, bats, owls and spiders — are also commonly used as Halloween decorations. People once believed that ghosts roamed 5 the earth on Halloween.
They also thought that all witches met on October 31 to worship 6 the Devil. Today, most people do not believe in ghosts or witches, but these supernatural 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 imported 7 the custom from America in the early 1980s.
On Halloween many children wear ghost costumes 8 and masks or witches' hats and go from door to door to ask their neighbors 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 not play a trick on them. The neighbors, to avoid having tricks played on them, give the children such treats as candy, fruit, and pennies.
The most celebrated Halloween decoration is the jack-o'-lanterm (把南瓜挖空並雕成人面開形的傑克燈) , traditionally a pumpkin (南瓜) that has been hollowed out and carved 9 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 (當代的) popular culture, such as politicians or movie characters, have become increasingly common in recent years. Adults often favor costumes with satirical 10 or humorous overtones (含蓄之意)。
[註釋]
1. observe vt. 慶祝，過(節日、生日等)
2. honour n. 敬意，尊敬 in ~ of 為慶祝…，為紀念…
3. purify vt. 淨化，使純淨
4. omen n. 預兆，徵兆
5. roam vt. 漫遊，在…來回走動
6. worship vt. 敬奉
7. import vt. 引進，進口
8. costume n. 服裝，戲裝
9. carve vt. 雕刻，刻
10. satirical adj. 諷刺的，含諷刺的
【萬聖節故事：三個鬼的投訴】有一天他們在逛街的時候遇到了上帝!他們對上帝說，他們都死得很
慘，希望讓他們上天堂!上帝很無奈地說，現在天堂的住戶太多，已經爆滿。但現在還有一個名額!你們說吧，看誰死得最慘，就讓誰上天堂!
於是，第一個鬼開始說了……我生前是一個清潔工。工作很辛苦的!從早
忙到晚!有一天，我正在一棟大廈外面擦玻璃!是那種吊在外面的`高空危險工作!在第30多樓!突然，我腳一滑，失足掉下去了!我想，完了!要死了!但求生本能讓我在無意識地亂抓!很幸運地，我抓住了一個陽臺的欄杆，在13樓。我想，有救了!於是想等緩過勁後爬上去!
哪知，突然有人把我的手一揎，我又掉下去了!我想，這下我真的完了!
但是，我命不該決，底下有一個帳篷接住了我，我慶幸前世肯定積了德!想等緩過勁就下去。誰知，上面掉下來一個冰箱，把我砸死了!
第二個鬼說……我生前是一個文員。什麼都還好，我有一個老婆，很漂
亮。身材很棒!但就是有點水性揚花。我有輕微的心臟病。有一天上班忘了帶藥，我回家去拿。一進門，看見老婆頭髮散亂、衣衫不整。肯定有姦夫。於是我滿屋找，廚房也找，廁所也找，都沒找到。到了陽臺，我發現有兩隻手扒在欄杆上，我想：姦夫!於是把他的手一揎。心想，13樓!看摔不死你!
結果等我一看，居然沒死!被帳篷接住了!我著急，於是滿屋找，進了廚
房，發現冰箱夠大，於是把冰箱扔下去。終於把他砸死了!我當時太高興了!大笑不止。誰知笑得心肌埂塞，笑死了!
第三個鬼說……我生前是個小混混，但我沒做過什麼壞事!有一天我到一
個女性朋友家裡晃!剛剛辦完事，她老公突然回了!我得找地方藏起來。於是廚房也找，廁所也找，最後發現他們家冰箱挺大的，於是我就躲進冰箱裡去了!我就不明白，她老公怎麼知道我在冰箱裡，他居然把冰箱從13樓給扔下去了!
我就這樣連人帶冰箱摔死了!
