Superstitions1 in Britain 英國(guó)的迷信

景一

◆General Superstitions◆

◆一般的迷信◆

◇Good Luck

Lucky to meet a black cat. Black Cats are featured on many good luck greetings cards and birthday cards in England.

Lucky to touch wood. People touch or knock on wood， to make something come true.

Lucky to find a clover2 plant with four leaves.

A horseshoe over the door brings good luck. But the horseshoe needs to be the right way up. The luck runs out of the horseshoe if it is upside down. Horseshoes are generally a sign of good luck and feature on many good luck cards.

On the first day of the month it is lucky to say “white rabbits， white rabbits， white rabbits” before uttering your first word of the day.

Catch falling leaves in Autumn and you will have good luck. Every leaf means a lucky month next year.

Cut your hair when the moon is waxing3 and you will have good luck.

Putting money in the pocket of new clothes brings good luck.

◇關(guān)于好運(yùn)

遇到一只黑貓會(huì)帶來(lái)好運(yùn)。在英國(guó)，黑貓經(jīng)常出現(xiàn)在好運(yùn)賀卡和生日賀卡上。

碰觸木頭會(huì)帶來(lái)好運(yùn)。為了心想事成，人們會(huì)碰觸或者敲敲木頭。

找到四片葉子的三葉草會(huì)帶來(lái)好運(yùn)。

掛在門上的馬蹄鐵會(huì)帶來(lái)好運(yùn)，但馬蹄鐵必須是正確的方向朝上。如果馬蹄鐵放倒過來(lái)，好運(yùn)氣就沒了。馬蹄鐵通常是好運(yùn)的標(biāo)志，在許多好運(yùn)賀卡上都能看到它。

在某個(gè)月的第一天，在說出你當(dāng)天的第一句話之前，念“白兔，白兔，白兔”會(huì)帶來(lái)好運(yùn)。

接住秋天的落葉會(huì)給你帶來(lái)好運(yùn)。每一片葉子都意味著來(lái)年一個(gè)月的好運(yùn)。

在月亮漸圓時(shí)剪頭發(fā)會(huì)給你帶來(lái)好運(yùn)。

把錢放在新衣服的口袋里會(huì)帶來(lái)好運(yùn)。

◇Bad Luck

Its unlucky to walk underneath a ladder.

Seven years bad luck to break a mirror. The superstition is supposed to have originated in ancient times， when mirrors were considered to be tools of the gods.

Unlucky to see one magpie4， lucky to see two.

Unlucky to spill salt. If you do， you must throw it over your shoulder to counteract5 the bad luck.

Unlucky to open an umbrella in doors.

The number thirteen is unlucky. Friday the thirteenth is a very unlucky day. Friday is considered to be an unlucky day because Jesus was crucified6 on a Friday.

Unlucky to put new shoes on the table.

Unlucky to pass someone on the stairs.

◇關(guān)于厄運(yùn)

從梯子下面走過會(huì)帶來(lái)厄運(yùn)。

打破一面鏡子會(huì)帶來(lái)七年的壞運(yùn)氣。該迷信應(yīng)該起源于古代，那時(shí)鏡子被認(rèn)為是神靈的用具。

遇見一只喜鵲意味著不幸，但遇見兩只喜鵲就走運(yùn)了。

弄撒了鹽不吉利。如果你弄撒了鹽，必須把它扔到肩膀后以抵消厄運(yùn)。

在屋里打傘是不吉利的。

數(shù)字13是不吉利的。恰逢星期五的13號(hào)是非常不吉利的一天。人們認(rèn)為星期五不吉利，是因?yàn)橐d是在星期五被釘死的。

把新鞋放在桌子上會(huì)帶來(lái)不幸。

在樓梯上超過別人會(huì)招致厄運(yùn)。

◆Animal Superstitions◆

◆動(dòng)物迷信◆

Animals feature a lot in British superstitions as they do in superstitions around the world.

One ancient British superstition holds that if a child rides on a bears back it will be protected from whooping-cough7. （Bears used to roam8 Britain but now they are not seen.）

In some parts of the UK， meeting two or three ravens9 together is considered really bad. One very English superstition concerns the tame ravens at the Tower of London. It is believed if they leave then the crown of England will be lost.

It is said to be bad luck if you see bats flying and hear their cries. In the middle ages it was believed that witches were closely associated with bats.

If a sparrow10 enters a house it is an omen11 of death to one of the people who live there. In some areas it is believed that to avoid bad luck， any sparrow caught must be immediately killed otherwise the person who caught it will die.

In some areas black rabbits are thought to host the souls of human beings. White rabbits are said to be really witches and some believe that saying “white rabbit” on the first day of each month brings luck. A common lucky charm is a rabbits foot， but not for the rabbit.

It is thought very unlucky to have the feathers of a peacock12 within the home or handle anything made with them. This is possibly because of the eye shape present upon these feathers， the evil-eye associated with wickedness.

和在世界各地的迷信中一樣，動(dòng)物在英國(guó)的迷信中也占據(jù)了主要位置。

有一個(gè)古老的英國(guó)迷信認(rèn)為，如果一個(gè)孩子騎在熊的背上，他將受到保護(hù)，不會(huì)得百日咳。（過去熊常在英國(guó)游蕩，但現(xiàn)在很難再看到它們。）

在英國(guó)的一些地方，遇到兩只或三只烏鴉在一起是非常糟糕的。有一個(gè)典型的英國(guó)迷信和倫敦塔上馴服的烏鴉有關(guān)。人們認(rèn)為，如果它們離開倫敦塔，那么英國(guó)就會(huì)滅亡。

據(jù)說，如果你看到蝙蝠在飛，并聽到它們的叫聲，就會(huì)倒霉。在中世紀(jì)，人們認(rèn)為女巫與蝙蝠有著密切的聯(lián)系。

如果一只麻雀飛進(jìn)了一所房子，這預(yù)示著住在房子里的某一個(gè)人會(huì)死去。在一些地區(qū)，人們相信，為了避免厄運(yùn)，必須立即殺死被抓住的麻雀，否則抓住麻雀的人將會(huì)死去。

在某些地區(qū)，黑兔子被認(rèn)為是人類靈魂的寄主。據(jù)說白兔是真正的女巫，有些人認(rèn)為在每個(gè)月的第一天喊“白兔”會(huì)帶來(lái)好運(yùn)。兔子腳是常見的吉祥物，但對(duì)于兔子來(lái)說，一點(diǎn)也不吉利。

人們認(rèn)為把孔雀的羽毛放在家里或接觸用它們做的任何東西都是非常不吉利的。這可能是因?yàn)檫@些羽毛上的眼睛形狀，被看作是與邪惡有關(guān)的惡魔之眼。

◆Food Superstitions◆

◆食物迷信◆

When finished eating a boiled egg， push the spoon through the bottom of the empty shell to let the devil out.

In Yorkshire， housewives used to believe that bread would not rise if there was a dead body around， and to cut off both ends of the loaf would make the devil fly over the house！

吃完煮熟的雞蛋后，要用勺子戳穿空蛋殼的底部，讓魔鬼出來(lái)。

在約克郡，家庭主婦們過去相信，如果附近有尸體，面包就不會(huì)漲起來(lái)，而把面包的兩頭切掉，會(huì)讓魔鬼飛到房子的上空！

◆Table Superstitions◆

◆餐桌迷信◆

If you drop a table knife expect a male visitor， if you drop a fork a female visitor.

Crossed cutlery13 on your plate and expect a quarrel.

Leave a white tablecloth on a table overnight and expect a death.

如果餐刀掉到地上，你會(huì)有男客人到訪;如果餐叉掉到地上，你就會(huì)有女客人到訪。

把刀叉放在盤子里，會(huì)發(fā)生爭(zhēng)吵。

把一塊白桌布整晚留在桌子上，會(huì)帶來(lái)死亡。

◆Wedding Superstitions◆

◆婚禮迷信◆

Bride14 and groom15 must not meet on the day of the wedding except at the altar16.

The bride should never wear her complete wedding clothes before the day.

For good luck the bride should wear“something borrowed， something blue， something old and something new”.

The husband should carry his new wife over the threshold17 of their home.

除在圣壇外，新郎新娘不得在婚禮當(dāng)天見面。

新娘不應(yīng)該在結(jié)婚當(dāng)天之前穿上完整的婚紗。

為了有好運(yùn)氣，新娘的穿著應(yīng)該“有借、有藍(lán)、有舊、有新”。

丈夫應(yīng)該把他的新婚妻子抱進(jìn)家門。

【Notes】

1. superstition [?????] n. 迷信

2. clover [?????] n. 三葉草;苜蓿 3. wax [?????] vi. 月亮漸滿;增大

4. magpie [?????] n. 鵲，喜鵲 5. counteract [?????] vt. 抵消;中和

6. crucify [?????] vt. 折磨;十字架上釘死

7. whooping-cough [?????] 百日咳 8. roam [?????] vi. 漫步;流浪

9. raven [?????] n. 大烏鴉 10. sparrow [?????] n. 麻雀

11. omen [?????] n. 預(yù)兆;征兆 12. peacock [?????] n. 孔雀

13. cutlery [?????] n. 餐具 14. bride [?????] n. 新娘

15. groom [?????] n. 新郎 16. altar [?????] n. 圣壇;圣餐臺(tái)

17. threshold [?????] n. 入口;門檻