Why Do We Carve1 Pumpkins2 on Halloween? 為什么要在萬(wàn)圣節(jié)前夜刻南瓜

張寧

It is said that all evil spirits and ghosts are allowed to come out of hiding during Halloween！

據(jù)說(shuō)在萬(wàn)圣節(jié)前夜里，所有的惡靈和鬼魂都可以從藏身的地方出來(lái)！

Significance3 of the pumpkin in Halloween festivities4

南瓜在萬(wàn)圣節(jié)前夜慶?；顒?dòng)中的意義

Halloween is a tradition and a holiday celebrated in Western countries， where children dress up in costumes and go from house to house asking for trick or treats. The most important Halloween tradition is to carve pumpkins. You might have noticed during Halloween people carve huge pumpkins and light them outside their homes.

萬(wàn)圣節(jié)前夜是西方國(guó)家慶祝的一個(gè)傳統(tǒng)和節(jié)日，在這個(gè)節(jié)日里孩子們盛裝打扮，挨家挨戶地討要，“不給糖就搗蛋”。萬(wàn)圣節(jié)前夜最重要的傳統(tǒng)是刻南瓜。你可能已經(jīng)注意到了，在萬(wàn)圣節(jié)前夜，人們會(huì)雕刻巨大的南瓜，然后在家門口點(diǎn)亮它們。

This tradition of carving and lighting pumpkins occurs all over the United States. It started in Ireland.

這種雕刻和點(diǎn)亮南瓜的傳統(tǒng)在美國(guó)各地都有。它起源于愛(ài)爾蘭。

Story of the jack-o-lantern

南瓜燈的故事

According to an old traditional Irish legend5， there was once a drunk and miserly6 person named Jack. He was known as， “Stingy7 Jack”. He was very shrewd8. So one fine day Jack invited the Devil to have a drink with him in a bar. The Devil did， and when it was time to pay the bill Jack asked the Devil to turn himself into a coin. The Devil fell for this trap and changed into a coin but instead of paying the bill， Jack put the devil in his pocket with a silver cross so that the devil wouldnt change to his original form. Later Jack freed the Devil but only on the condition that the Devil would not take Jacks soul when he died.

根據(jù)一個(gè)古老傳統(tǒng)的愛(ài)爾蘭傳說(shuō)，從前有一個(gè)喝醉了的吝嗇的人叫杰克，人們稱他為“吝嗇鬼杰克”。他很精明。于是有一天，杰克邀請(qǐng)魔鬼和他在酒吧喝酒。魔鬼來(lái)了，到了付賬的時(shí)候，杰克讓魔鬼變成一枚硬幣。魔鬼中了這個(gè)圈套，變成了一枚硬幣，但杰克沒(méi)有付賬，而是把魔鬼和一個(gè)銀十字架放在口袋里，這樣魔鬼就不會(huì)變回原來(lái)的樣子了。后來(lái)杰克釋放了魔鬼，但條件是在杰克死后魔鬼不會(huì)奪走他的靈魂。

As with every mortal9 being stingy， Jack also died one day， but he was rejected10 by God since he was not a sincere person and was not allowed in heaven. Jack went to hell and since the Devil had promised not to take his soul， he was denied11 entry.

正如每個(gè)吝嗇的凡人一樣，杰克有一天也死了，但他被上帝拒絕了，因?yàn)樗皇且粋€(gè)真誠(chéng)的人，不許進(jìn)入天堂。杰克去了地獄，因?yàn)槟Ч泶饝?yīng)不奪走他的靈魂，他被拒絕進(jìn)入。

However， the Devil gave Jack a piece of charcoal12 and told him to make his own hell and light it. Jack put the charcoal in a carved-out turnip13 and it is believed that he roams14 the earth as a restless soul along with his lantern ever since. Thus was born jack-o-lantern.

然而，魔鬼給了杰克一塊木炭，讓他自己找地方點(diǎn)燃它。杰克把木炭放在一個(gè)雕刻好的蘿卜里，人們相信，從那時(shí)起，他就成為一個(gè)不安的靈魂，帶著燈籠在人間游蕩。南瓜燈就這樣誕生了。

People first started carving turnips and potatoes to drive off evil. Later pumpkins took over this tradition as they seemed to be the right fruit—big， ripened15 at the correct time and native to America.

人們最初開始雕刻蘿卜和土豆來(lái)驅(qū)邪。后來(lái)南瓜繼承了這一傳統(tǒng)，因?yàn)樗鼈兯坪醪攀钦_的選擇——大，而且在恰當(dāng)?shù)臅r(shí)間成熟，并原產(chǎn)于美國(guó)。

So people carve pumpkins with scary， ghost like faces. This， the Irish believe stops evil spirits like Stingy Jack from entering their homes during Halloween.

所以人們?cè)谀瞎仙峡躺峡膳碌墓砟?。?ài)爾蘭人相信這樣可以阻止像吝嗇鬼杰克這樣的惡靈在萬(wàn)圣節(jié)前夜進(jìn)入他們的家。

（英語(yǔ)原文選自：mocomi.com）

1. carve [■] v. 雕刻;切開 2. pumpkin [■] n. 南瓜

3. significance [■] n. 意義;重要性 4. festivity [■] n. 歡慶，歡宴;慶典

5. legend [■] n. 傳奇;說(shuō)明 6. miserly [■] adj. 吝嗇的;貪婪的

7. stingy [■] adj. 吝嗇的;貪婪的 8. shrewd [■] adj. 精明的;狡猾的

9. mortal [■] n. 人類，凡人 10. reject [■] v. 拒絕;排斥;抵制

11. deny [■] v. 否定，否認(rèn);拒絕 12. charcoal [■] n. 木炭;炭筆

13. turnip [■] n. 蘿卜;蕪菁甘藍(lán)，大頭菜 14. roam [■] v. 漫游，漫步;流浪

15. ripen [■] v. 使成熟