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英文短文欣赏：The Story of Halloween

http://www.sina.com.cn 2004/01/17 17:44 英语辅导报

　　Halloween(万圣节)is one of the oldest holidays with a history of thousands of years. The holiday we know as Halloween has taken in a lot from other cultures(文化)over the years.

　　Hundreds of years ago in what is now Great Britain and Northern France,lived the Celts(凯尔特人).The Celts believed in many gods(神),with the sun god as their favourite.They thought that it was"he"who ordered them what to do for their work and when they could rest,and"he"made the earth beautiful and the crops grow.

　　The Celts kept their New Year on November 1st.It was celebrated every year with a holiday and marked(做标记)the end of the"season of the sun"and the beginning of"the season of darkness and cold."

　　On October 31st after the crops were all gathered and stored for the long winter,the cooking fires in the homes would be put out. The Druids，the Celtic priests(牧师),would meet at the top of the hill in the dark oak(橡树)forest［oak trees were thought to be sacred(神圣的)］.The Druids would light(点燃)new fires，and then offered some crops and animals which they killed to their God. As they danced around the fires，the season of the sun passed and the season of darkness would begin.

　　When the morning arrived the Druids would give a piece of wood from their fires to each family，then they would take them home to start new cooking fires.These fires would keep the homes warm and free from evil(邪恶的)spirits(妖怪).

　　The November 1st festival was called Sam hain(pronouncedsowen).The festival would last for 3days.Many people would walk in a line in the streets，in clothes made from the skins and heads of their animals.This festival would become the first Halloween.

　　During the first century the Romans came and ruled Britain.They brought with them many of their festivals and customs(风俗，习惯).One of these was the festival know as Pomona Day，named for their god dess(女神)of fruits and gardens.It was celebrated around the 1st of November.After hundreds of years of Roman rule the Celtic's Samhain festival and the Roman Pomona Day mixed becoming one important autumn holiday.

　　Something else to do with Halloween is the Christian Religion(基督教)In the year 835AD the Roman Catholic(天主教的) Church made November 1st a church holiday to remember all the saints(圣人).This day was called All Saints'Day，or Hallowmas,or All Hallows.Years later the church made November 2nd a holy(神圣的)day. It was called All Souls Day and was to remember the dead.It was celebrated with large fires,many people walking along together,and people dressing up as saints, angels(天使)and devils(魔鬼)

　　But this did not make people forget their early customs.On the eve of All Hallows,Oct.31,people continued to celebrate the festivals of Sam hain and Pomona Day.Over the years the customs from all these holidays mixed.October 31st became know as All Hallow Even,later All Hallow's Eve,halloween,and then-Halloween.

　　Halloween today is a mixture(混合)of all the old holidays,and that is why we have Pomona Day's apples,nuts,and harvest,fruits,the Festival of Samhain's black cats,magic(魔术),evil spirits and death,and the ghosts(鬼),skeletons(骨架) and skulls(头骨)from All Saint's Day and All Soul's Day.

　　Notes

　　Celts凯尔特人，印欧民族的一支，最初分布在中欧，在前罗马帝国时期遍及欧洲西部、不列颠群岛和加拉提亚东南部。尤指不列颠人或高卢人。

　　Tell the following statements TRUE(T)or FALSE(F)according to the passage above.

　　1.Halloween has a history of a thousand years.

　　2.The Celts believed in one God，-the sun god.

　　3.The Celts celebrated their New Year on October 31st.

　　4.The Celtic priests met at the top of the hill in the oak forest.

　　5.In the year 835 AD the Roman Catholic Church made November 2 a holy day to remember the saints.

　　6.Now Halloween is celebrated on October 31st.

　　Answers:

　　1--6 FFFTFT

　　(文/河北唐山一中田民；英语通2003年第11期；版权归英语辅导报社所有，独家网络合作伙伴新浪教育，未经许可，不得以任何形式进行转载。)

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