今天是西方的傳統節日——Halloween，萬聖節（All Saints' Day）前夜，也可以稱作「萬聖夜」。
提到萬聖夜、萬聖節，你可能會想到糖果、變裝、南瓜燈、鬼怪，以及那句經典的「trick-or-treat（不給糖就搗亂）」，但你知道萬聖節原來還是脫單節嗎？一起和扇貝君來了解幾條關於萬聖節的有趣冷知識吧～
1. Originally, you had to dance for your 「treat.」
想要糖嗎？跳個舞先！
Most experts trace trick-or-treating to the European practice of 「mumming,」 in which costume-wearing participants would go door-to-door performing choreographed dances, songs and plays in exchange for treats.
大多數專家認為，「不給糖就搗蛋」這一風俗可以追溯到歐洲的化妝表演，小夥伴們穿著戲裝挨家挨戶表演精心編排的舞蹈、歌唱和戲劇，這樣才能換來款待。
這一傳統後來才流傳到美國，而且起初常出現在感恩節上。
今年的萬聖夜活動，你準備好節目了嗎？
2. Halloween’s origins come from an ancient Celtic festival.
萬聖夜起源於古凱爾特人的節日。
Halloween’s origins come from a Celtic festival for the dead called 「Samhain.」 Celts believed the ghosts of the dead roamed Earth on this holiday, so people would dress in costumes and leave 「treats」 out on their front doors to appease the roaming spirits.
萬聖夜起源於凱爾特人紀念逝者的「薩溫節／夏末節。」凱爾特人相信在節日這天，逝者的鬼魂會來到人間遊走，所以人們會穿上特別的服裝，並在家門口擺放祭品來撫慰這些遊蕩的鬼魂。
Granted, the Celts were not solely based in Ireland when these customs started taking shape around the first century B.C., but as will be talked about more in a later section, the Irish Celts were the ones who invented the jack-o』-lantern. This Halloween prototype was eventually disrupted and adapted by Christian missionaries into celebrations closer to what we celebrate today.
這一習俗大概在公元前一世紀成形，雖然當時並非只有愛爾蘭才有凱爾特人，但人們後來確定了傑克南瓜燈正是愛爾蘭的凱爾特人發明的。最後，經過基督教傳教士的介入和修改，這一雛形逐漸演變為慶祝活動，更接近我們現在的慶祝形式。
3. If you』d been around for the earliest Halloween celebrations, you might have worn animal skins and heads.
要是去參加古代的萬聖夜活動，穿戴動物的頭和毛皮，你就是最靚的仔！
According to ancient Roman records, tribes located in today’s Germany and France traditionally wore costumes of animal heads and skins to connect to spirits of the dead. This tradition continued into modern day celebrations of Samhain, the Celtic holiday that inspired Halloween in America. On this day, people often dressed as evil spirits simply by blackening their faces. The leader of the Samhain parades wore a white sheet and carried a wooden horse head or a decorated horse skull.
根據古羅馬文獻記載，曾在今德國、法國一帶生存過的部落，會穿戴動物的頭顱或毛皮，與逝者通靈。這一傳統一直延續至現代的薩溫節，也就是美國萬聖夜的前身。在這一天，人們通常會把臉塗黑，扮成惡魔。薩溫節遊行的領頭人會披著白袍，戴上木製的馬頭或精心裝飾的馬頭骨。
emmm……仔細想想，畫面好像不太美……
4. Jack-o』-lanterns were once made out of turnips, beets and potatoes — not pumpkins.
傑克南瓜燈原來是用蘿蔔、甜菜頭和土豆做的，反正不是南瓜。
The jack-o』-lantern comes from an old Irish tale about a man named Stingy Jack.
傑克南瓜燈源自古老的愛爾蘭傳說，講的是吝嗇鬼傑克的故事。
According to folklore, Stingy Jack was out getting sloshed with the Devil when Jack convinced his drinking partner to turn himself into a coin to pay for the drinks without spending money. Jack then put the Devil, shaped like a coin, into his pocket, which also contained a silver cross that kept the Devil from transforming back. Jack promised to free the Devil as long as the Devil wouldn’t bother him for a year, and if he died, the Devil could never claim his soul. Jack tricked the Devil again later, getting him to pick a piece of fruit out of a tree and then carving a cross into the bark when the Devil was in the branches. This trick bought Jack another 10 years of devil-free living.
故事是這樣的。吝嗇鬼傑克和惡魔一起喝酒，為了不花錢，他說服惡魔變成硬幣來付酒錢。但惡魔變成了硬幣後，傑克卻把惡魔裝進了口袋，還用銀十字架鎮住了他，使他無法變回原形。傑克承諾只要惡魔一年都不來騷擾他，而且如果他死了，也不來索取他的靈魂，就放惡魔出來。第二年，傑克又戲弄了惡魔，他讓惡魔去摘果子，惡魔到樹上後，傑克在樹皮上刻了十字。這一次，傑克成功讓惡魔答應十年都不來找他。（這個惡魔怎麼不太聰明的亞子？）
When Jack finally died, God decided he wasn’t fit for heaven, but the Devil had promised never to claim his soul for hell. So Jack was sent off to roam Earth with only a burning coal for light. He put the coal into a turnip as a lantern, and Stingy Jack became 「Jack of the Lantern」 or 「Jack o』 Lantern.」 Based on this myth, the Irish carved scary faces into turnips, beets and potatoes to scare away Stingy Jack or any other spirits of the night.
傑剋死後，上帝覺得他不配進天堂，而惡魔也答應過不把他的靈魂帶入地獄。所以傑克只能遊蕩在人間，靠著一塊燃燒的炭火來照明。他把煤炭放在蘿蔔裡，做成提燈，而吝嗇鬼傑克也就變成了「提燈傑克」。根據這個傳說，愛爾蘭人便在蘿蔔、甜菜頭和土豆上刻上可怕的鬼臉，來驅趕夜裡的吝嗇鬼傑克或其他的鬼魂。
再後來，19世紀40年代，新移民來到美洲大陸，他們發現了比白蘿蔔更好的材料——南瓜。所以現在的傑克燈基本都是南瓜做的了。
5. Halloween used to be a great day to find your soulmate.
萬聖夜曾是盛大的脫單節？
In some parts of Ireland, people celebrated Halloween by playing romantic fortune-telling games. These games allegedly predicted who they』d marry, and when. In America, young people, particularly girls, continued the old Irish tradition. They often play games, like bobbing for apples, trying to predict future romances.
在愛爾蘭一些地區，人們會在萬聖夜玩浪漫的算命遊戲，據說這些遊戲可以預測何時與誰結婚。在美國，尤其是女生之間，仍然沿襲著這個古老的愛爾蘭傳統，比如玩咬蘋果的遊戲，來預測未來的愛情。
害！單身狗還不抓緊機會嗎？
6. In a few American towns, Halloween was originally referred to as 「Cabbage Night.」
在美國一些小鎮，萬聖夜原本是「捲心菜之夜。」
This came from a Scottish fortune-telling game, where girls used cabbage stumps to predict information about their future husbands. In the early Framingham, Massachusetts, teens skipped the fortune-telling and simply went around throwing cabbage at their neighbors』 houses. This was no isolated tradition: In late 19th century America, country boys reportedly rejoiced in throwing cabbage, corn and assorted rotten vegetables.
這一習俗源自蘇格蘭的算命遊戲，女孩們用捲心菜莖來預測未來的夫婿。而在麻薩諸塞州的弗雷明漢，早些時候，熊孩子們乾脆跳過算命的環節，直接把捲心菜扔到鄰居的家裡。這還不是個例，據說在19世紀晚期，美國鄉下的小男孩以扔捲心菜、玉米以及各種各樣的爛菜為樂。
7. Some animal shelters won’t allow the adoption of black cats around Halloween for fear they』ll be sacrificed.
萬聖夜來了，保護我方黑色喵星人！
It’s unclear whether black cats are actually sacrificed around Halloween, but various animal shelters refuse to let people adopt these cats in the lead-up to the holiday. This type of ban is starting to wane, however. Many shelters are actually holding a special black cat promotion around the holiday.
雖然尚不清楚黑貓在萬聖夜是否真的會被當作祭品，但許多動物收容所在節前都會拒絕人們領養黑貓。不過，這一禁令在逐漸放寬了。事實上，也有很多收容所會在節日前後專門為黑貓開展領養推廣活動。
看完這篇，今天又是漲知識的一天呢！貝貝們今晚怎麼安排的呢？祝大家玩得開心吖～
參考文獻：
[1] Huffpost. 8 Super Weird Things You Didn’t Know About Halloween. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/halloween-weird-facts_n_5948456[2] Wikipedia. Halloween. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween[3] Wikipedia. All Saints' Day. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Saints%27_Day