Halloween　I

　　When the harvest moon rises on October 31, little hobgoblins, spooky ghosts, ghoulish witches and gremlins — their young faces hidden behind grotesque masks — will go forth to frighten friends and neighbors and to threaten them with "Trick or Treat ".

　　Halloween (AII Hallows Eve) as the name implies, is a nighttime holiday, the one night in the year when the child's world turns to pure fantasy. Children take all the lead parts while parents and other adults play the supporting roles. Encouraged by teachers and merchants and the remembrance of the good time they had the earlier year, children (from 3 to 11 years old) start preparing their costumes and Halloween decorations weeks ahead. Although parents help the children very much prepare the costumes, on Halloween they must pretend to be frightened by the masked visions that suddenly appear. There will be little witches in long black dresses with tall-pointed hats and magic broomsticks to carry them over the rooftops — to a neighbor's house in the next block. Ghosts in sheets run with tell-tale sneakers and half socks showing; and terrible pirates with skull and cross-bones painted on their three-cornered hats. Some carry jack-o'-lanterns but all carry bags or UNICEF boxes marked "Trick or Treat", which fill up very fast.

　　Teenagers have their fun playing tricks that sometimes get rather rough. They throw eggs or tomatoes at passing motorists , mark up windows and windshields with hard-to-erase candle wax, roll pumpkins down long hills, carry away porch furniture and garbage can covers, engrave graffiti on fences, or do whatever bad things occur to them as they go around looking for ways to "let off steam". Police officers are alert but they only arrest those caught doing real damage. In most communities there are school dances or block parties to help redirect the energies of the youthful pranksters. Business firms offer prizes for the best costumes and recreation directors help plan the party, but the young people themselves take charge of the entertainment and the decorations — a necessary part of Halloween. Dried corn stalks, pumpkin faces, and piles of apples create the harvest atmosphere; and cutouts of witches on their brooms, goblins, ghosts and black cats symbolize the witchcraft aspect of the holiday. The freshments — apple cider, popcorn and pumpkin pie, and witches made of spicy ginger cookies — also carry out both themes.

　　There is an occasional adult Halloween Dance in a bright orange and black setting, with paper-made black cats, witches and grinning skeletons floating above the dance floor. But Halloween has become mainly a young people's holiday — and the younger the child the more exciting he finds it.

万圣节前夜　I

　　10月31日，当一轮满月从空中升起的时候，小妖精、妖魔鬼怪、恐怖的巫婆、小捣蛋鬼——孩子们把小脸蛋藏在奇形怪状的面具后——会突然出现在朋友及邻居面前，并威吓着说：“不给糖，要倒霉。”

　　万圣节前夜，顾名思义，就是仅一个晚上的节日。在一年中的这一夜，孩子们的心灵充满了单纯的梦幻奇境。他们是节日的主人，而父母或其他大人只能起陪衬作用。在老师和商人的鼓励下，在前一年欢度万圣节前夜的美好回忆的诱惑下，孩子们(3至11岁)几星期前便开始准备服装和节日装饰了。虽然家长往往都要帮助孩子们准备服装，但在节日那晚，他们一定要装出一副被突然出现的带面具的鬼怪吓着了的样子。那时，会有穿着黑色长袍、戴着尖尖高帽子的小巫婆出现，她们乘着神扫帚飞过屋顶，飞到临街邻居的屋顶上；还会有披着床单的鬼怪出现，他们边跑边露着帆布鞋和短袜子；还有那可怕的海盗，他们戴着绘有骸髅及交叉的大腿骨的三角帽。有的孩子手提用南瓜刻成的人面形灯笼，但每个孩子都手拿着袋子或联合国儿童基金会发的盒子，上面写着：“不给糖，要倒霉。”很快，这些袋子、盒子里便都装满了糖果。

　　十几岁的孩子玩那些恶作剧的游戏，有时使大人们相当为难。他们向过往的车辆扔鸡蛋或西红柿；往玻璃窗、汽车挡风玻璃上涂抹难以擦掉的蜡；把南瓜滚下长长的山路；搬走门廊里的家具；偷走垃圾箱盖；在篱笆上乱涂乱写，到处惹是生非；这样来消耗掉他们多余的精力。警察虽然警惕性很高，但也只能逮捕那些真正的犯罪者。在许多社区人们举办交际舞会或街区晚会，以分散那些搞恶作剧的年轻人的精力。会后由商业界为最佳服装颁发奖品。虽然文艺指导帮助策划晚会，但是年轻人都亲自负责组织活动和动手装饰，这些是万圣节前夜的必可不少的一部分。晒干的玉米秆、用南瓜雕刻成的人脸以及一堆堆的苹果，使晚会增加了丰收的气氛；用各种东西雕刻成的乘扫帚的巫婆、妖魔鬼怪和黑猫标志了节日的魔力。晚会上供应的新鲜食品——苹果酒、爆米花、南瓜馅饼以及制成巫婆形的辣姜饼——既增加了丰收的气氛，又标志了节日的魔力。

　　万圣节前夜偶尔也有成年人的舞会，舞台背景为鲜艳的橙色和黑色，舞场上还舞动着用纸做成的黑猫、巫婆及龇牙咧嘴的骷髅。尽管如此，万圣节前夜主要是孩子们的节日—一孩子越小，就越兴奋。