From communion with the dead to pumpkins and pranks, Halloween is a patchwork holiday, stitched together with cultural, religious and occult traditions that span centuries.
從與死者交流到南瓜和惡作劇，萬聖節是個大雜燴的節日，與跨越數個世紀，文化和宗教上的神秘傳統交織在一起。
It all began with the Kelts, a people whose culture had spread across Europe more than two thousand years ago. October 31st was the day they celebrated the end of the harvest season in a festival called "Samhain." That night also marked the Keltic New Year and was considered the time "between years," a magical time when the ghost of the dead watched the Earth.
這一切是從凱爾特人開始的，在兩千多年前凱爾特人的文化就已經遍佈歐洲。十月三十一日是個他們在稱作「Samhain」的慶典上，慶祝豐收祭結束的日子。那個夜晚一樣也是凱爾特人新年的標誌，而且被認為是「年間」的時間，「年間」是死者的亡魂監視著地球的神祕時刻。
It was the time when the veil between death and life was supposed to be at its thinnest.
人們認為那一刻是死者與生者之間的帷幕最薄的時候。
On "Samhain," the villagers gathered and lit huge bonfires to drive the dead back to the spirit world and keep them away from the living. But, as the Catholic Church's influences grew in Europe, it frowned on the pagan rituals like "Samhain." In the 7th century, the Vatican began to merge it with the church-sanctioned holiday. So November 1st was designated "All Saints' Day" to honor martyrs and the deceased faithful.
在「Samhain」慶典上，村民聚在一起燃起熊熊的營火驅使死者回到靈性世界，並使它們遠離生者。然而，隨著天主教教會的影響力在歐洲增加，它不滿像是「Samhain」這樣的異教徒儀式。第七世紀時，梵蒂岡開始將其與教會認可的節日合併在一起。所以十一月一日被指定為「諸聖日」以對殉教者們及過世的信徒表示尊敬。
Both of these holidays had to do with the afterlife and about survival after death. It was a calculated move on the part of the Church to bring more people into the fold.
這兩個節日都與來世和死而復生有關。這是由教會所作出的老謀深算的一步，讓更多人加入天主教的行列。
"All Saints' Day" was known then as "Hallowmas." "Hallow" means "holy" or "saintly", so the translation is roughly "Mass of the Saints." The night before October 31st was "All Hallows' Eve," which gradually morphed into "Halloween."
此後「諸聖日」被稱作「Hallowmas」。 Hallow的意思是「神聖的」或「像聖徒的」，所以翻譯大概就是「大批的聖徒」。十月三十一日的前夕則是「諸聖夜」，漸漸地演化成「萬聖節」。
The holiday came to America with the wave of Irish immigrants during the Potato Famine of the 1840s. They brought several of their holiday customs with them, including "Bobbing for Apples" and playing tricks on neighbors, like removing gates from the front of houses. The young pranksters were masked, so they wouldn't be recognized. But over the years, the tradition of harmless tricks grew into outright vandalism.
這個節日在1840年代馬鈴薯大饑荒期間，隨著愛爾蘭移民潮來到了美國。他們帶來了幾種節日習俗，包括「咬蘋果遊戲」和對鄰居惡作劇，像是移走房子前的大門。年輕的惡作劇孩子們都戴著面具，才不會被認出來。但是這些年來，這些無害的惡作劇傳統變成了徹底的破壞行為。
Back in the 1930s, it really became a dangerous holiday. I mean, there was such hooliganism and vandalism. Trick-or-treating was originally an extortion deal: Give us candy or we'll trash your house.
回溯到1930年代，這確實變成了個危險的節日。我的意思是，有這樣的無賴行徑和破壞行為。Trick-or-treating（不給糖就搗蛋）原本就是筆勒索交易：給我們糖果，不然我們會破壞你家。
Store keepers and neighbors began giving treats or bribes to stop the tricks, and children were encouraged to travel door to door for treats as an alternative to trouble-making. By the late 30s, "trick-or-treat" became a holiday greeting.
商家和街坊鄰居開始給小點心或賄賂來停止惡作劇，人們鼓勵孩子挨家挨戶要點心，作為替代搗亂的另一項選擇。在三十年代晚期，「不給糖就搗蛋」變成了節日的問候語。
