Why Do We Carve1 Pumpkins2 on Halloween? 為什么要在萬圣節前夜刻南瓜

張寧

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

據說在萬圣節前夜里，所有的惡靈和鬼魂都可以從藏身的地方出來！

Significance3 of the pumpkin in Halloween festivities4

南瓜在萬圣節前夜慶祝活動中的意義

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.

萬圣節前夜是西方國家慶祝的一個傳統和節日，在這個節日里孩子們盛裝打扮，挨家挨戶地討要，“不給糖就搗蛋”。萬圣節前夜最重要的傳統是刻南瓜。你可能已經注意到了，在萬圣節前夜，人們會雕刻巨大的南瓜，然后在家門口點亮它們。

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

這種雕刻和點亮南瓜的傳統在美國各地都有。它起源于愛爾蘭。

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.

根據一個古老傳統的愛爾蘭傳說，從前有一個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，杰克邀請魔鬼和他在酒吧喝酒。魔鬼來了，到了付賬的時候，杰克讓魔鬼變成一枚硬幣。魔鬼中了這個圈套，變成了一枚硬幣，但杰克沒有付賬，而是把魔鬼和一個銀十字架放在口袋里，這樣魔鬼就不會變回原來的樣子了。后來杰克釋放了魔鬼，但條件是在杰克死后魔鬼不會奪走他的靈魂。

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.

正如每個吝嗇的凡人一樣，杰克有一天也死了，但他被上帝拒絕了，因為他不是一個真誠的人，不許進入天堂。杰克去了地獄，因為魔鬼答應不奪走他的靈魂，他被拒絕進入。

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，讓他自己找地方點燃它。杰克把木炭放在一個雕刻好的蘿卜里，人們相信，從那時起，他就成為一個不安的靈魂，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驅邪。后來南瓜繼承了這一傳統，因為它們似乎才是正確的選擇——大，而且在恰當的時間成熟，并原產于美國。

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.

所以人們在南瓜上刻上可怕的鬼臉。愛爾蘭人相信這樣可以阻止像吝嗇鬼杰克這樣的惡靈在萬圣節前夜進入他們的家。

（英語原文選自：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;拒絕 12. charcoal [■] n. 木炭;炭筆

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

15. ripen [■] v. 使成熟