Sundry Features of Halloween雜談萬圣節

Tiny ghost-like dolls hang from trees， big plastic spiders sit on rooftops and bloody plastic hands reach out from gravestones… Are you ready for the scariest night of the year？

October 31 is Halloween， one of the most popular festivals in the US， Canada and Britain. The festival began as a day to remember the dead. But nowadays its all about the carnival atmosphere when people can enjoy dressing up and scaring each other.

Halloween is one of childrens favourite nights of the year. They dress up as monsters and go to their neighbours houses， knocking on the door they shout， “Trick or treat！” Of course， people usually give them “treats”—like sweets or chocolates. But if you dont， you can expect a prank such as having your car windows soaped or your garbage cans turned over.

Halloween is also a time for masquerade parties. Witches fly in on broomsticks， while ghosts and skeletons chat on the dance floor.

You can even dress up as a famous monster like Dracula！ The motto is， “The scarier， the better.”

A well-known Halloween tradition is to make lanterns from pumpkins， called “Jack-o-lanterns”. First， the inside of the pumpkin is removed. Then， a face is cut into the pumpkin， traditionally a smiling， devil face. Finally a candle is placed inside， and the lantern is put at the front of the house to keep evil spirits away.

Besides pumpkin cutting， “apple-bobbing” is another popular game. Several apples are put floating in water in a big bucket. Children have their hands tied behind their backs. They have to try to pick the apples out of the water using only their mouths. Of course， people get very wet and it is very funny to watch.

樹上到處懸掛著鬼怪小玩偶，屋頂盤踞著巨大的塑料蜘蛛，墓穴里伸出一雙血淋淋的塑膠手……一年之中最恐怖的夜晚到來了，你準備好了嗎？

10月31日是萬圣節前夜，它是美國、加拿大和英國最受歡迎的節日之一。節日起源于對死者的紀念日。但現在它完全成了一場大狂歡，人們盡情享受著打扮易容和互相恐嚇的樂趣。

萬圣節前夜是一年之中孩子們最喜歡的夜晚之一。他們打扮成怪物去鄰居家，敲著門大喊：“不給糖就搗蛋！”當然，人們通常會給“糖”——比如甜食或巧克力。但如果你不給，那就等著一場惡作劇吧，譬如你的車窗會被涂上肥皂或垃圾桶翻倒在地。

萬圣節前夜也是舉辦化裝舞會的好時機。女巫坐著掃帚飛進來，鬼怪和骷髏則在舞池中竊竊私語。

你甚至可以化妝成像德拉庫拉伯爵那樣著名的吸血鬼怪物。有句格言說得好：“越恐怖越好。”

眾所周知的萬圣節前夜傳統是用南瓜做成燈籠，叫作“杰克南瓜燈”。首先，把南瓜內部掏空。然后，在南瓜上雕刻出一張面孔，通常是一張笑瞇瞇的魔鬼面孔。最后在南瓜內部放上一支蠟燭，并把南瓜燈放在房子前面用來嚇跑那些邪惡的幽靈。

除了雕刻南瓜，“叼蘋果”是另一個很流行的游戲。把幾只蘋果放在大水桶里面漂浮著。孩子們的手被綁在背后。他們只能用嘴把蘋果從水里叼出來。當然了，人們會全身都濕淋淋的，光看著就很有趣。