Each year, on the last night of October, millions of children across the US dress-up in costume and take to the streets for a spooky(似鬼的) dose of Trick or Treat fun.

　　But how much do you really know about this haunted(闹鬼的) holiday?

　　Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary(边界线) between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred(模糊). On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly(来世的) spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the changing natural world, these foretells were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.

　　To commemorate(纪念)the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires(营火), where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities(神). During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and tried to tell each other's fortunes. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had put out earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.

　　By 43 A.D., Romans had taken up the majority of Celtic land. In the course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain. The first was Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of “bobbing” for apples that is practiced today on Halloween.

　　By the 800s, the effect of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands. In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated(任命) November 1 All Saints' Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs(烈士). It is widely believed today that the Pope was trying to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-permitted holiday. The celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas and the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween. Even later, in 1000 A.D., the church would make November 2 All Souls' Day, a day to honor the dead. It was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels, and devils.

　　Together, the three celebrations, the eve of All Saints', All Saints', and All Souls', were called Hallowmas.

　　(文/张丽艳； 英语辅导报新课标高一版 04~05学年度第18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。)