西方传统节日简介 Easter（复活节） Easter is a time of springtime festivals. In Christian countries Easter is celebrated as the religious holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the son of God. But the celebrations of Easter have many customs and legends that are pagan in origin and have nothing to do with Christianity. Traditions associated with the festival survive in the Easter rabbit, a symbol of fertility, and in colored Easter eggs, originally painted with bright colors to represent the sunlight of spring, and used in Easter-egg rolling contests or given as gifts. 复活节是春季的节日。在信基督教的国家里，复活节是为纪念基督耶稣的复活而举行的宗教节日。但是复活节有许多习俗和传说的由来都是非宗教的，它们与基督教没有任何关系。与节日密切联系的一些传统有象复活节的野兔，它是作为繁殖生长的象征；还有复活节的彩蛋。最先是被绘以鲜亮的颜色来代表春天的阳光。这些彩蛋还可以用来玩滚彩蛋游戏比赛，或作为小礼物送人。 Thanksgiving（感恩节） The first American Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621, to commemorate the harvest reaped by the Plymouth Colony after a harsh winter. In that year Governor William Bradford proclaimed a day of thanksgiving. The colonists celebrated it as a traditional English harvest feast, to which they invited the local Wampanoag Indians. Days of thanksgiving were celebrated throughout the colonies after fall harvests. All thirteen colonies did not, however, celebrate Thanksgiving at the same time until October 1777. George Washington was the first president to declare the holiday, in 1789. 第一个美国人庆贺的感恩节在1621年，为了纪念普利茅斯殖民地的人民在经过一个歉收荒芜的冬季后迎来丰收。在那一年，州长William Bradford宣布那天作为感恩节。殖民者把它当成传统的英国丰收节日来庆贺，在当天，他们还邀请当地的印地安的万泊诺亚格人。感恩的节日延续了整个秋季的收获季节，但其他的十三个殖民地没有庆贺这个节日，直到1777年10月。乔治-华盛顿在1789年宣布把它定为节日，他也是第一位宣布感恩节的总统。 Valentine"s Day（情 人 节） The history of Valentine"s Day -- and its patron saint -- is shrouded in mystery. But we do know that February has long been a month of romance. St. Valentine"s Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. So, who was Saint Valentine and how did he become associated with this ancient rite? Today, the Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred. One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men -- his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine"s actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were often beaten and tortured. According to one legend, Valentine actually sent the first "valentine" greeting himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl -- who may have been his jailor"s daughter -- who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed "From your Valentine," an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories certainly emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic figure. It"s no surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England and France. 情人节的历史充满了神秘，但是我们知道，很久以来，2月就是一个浪漫的月份了。情人节既留有基督教的痕迹，又有古罗马的传统。情人节又称圣瓦伦丁节。关于情人节有好多传说。其中之一是，3世纪的时候，古罗马的皇帝Claudius二世认为独身的男子比有妻子、家庭的男子更善于打仗，于是他宣布婚姻是非法的，这也断绝了士兵的来源。牧师Valentine意识到这条法令的谬误，就公开反对，并且秘密为青年人主持婚礼。Claudius二世知道后就把Valentine处死了。 Fathers" Day（父 亲 节） In the 1900s, Fathers" Day was created when Sonora Louise Smart Dodd wanted to express her deep appreciation to her own father, William Smart, who was widowed when his wife died at giving birth. Mr. Smart raised his six children on a rural farm in eastern Washington State. When Ms. Dodd was grown she wanted to show her appreciation to her father. So, in 1909, she proposed a day to honor her father in June (the month of her father"s birth). The very first Fathers" Day followed on June 19, 1910 in Spokane, Washington. In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge showed support of this becoming a national holiday. However, it wasn"t until 1966 when President Lyndon Johnson officially proclaimed Fathers" Day a national holiday to be celebrated on the 3rd Sunday of June. 二十世纪初，苏娜·路易丝·史墨·多德想要向他的父亲威廉·史墨表达敬意，于是产生了父亲节。她父亲在他妻子难产而死以后，就一直鳏居。史墨先生在东华盛顿州的农庄中独力抚养大六个孩子。当多德女士长大成人后，她觉得要向父亲致敬。于是，在1909年她提议在六月里一天向父亲表达敬意。（她父亲在六月生日）。第一个父亲节在1910年6月19日在华盛顿，史布肯庆祝了。1924年，卡文·柯立芝总统表示支持，并将此确立为国家的节日。然而，直到1966年，林顿·约翰逊总统才正式宣布六月的第三个星期天为父亲节，在全国正式地庆祝。 Mothers" Day（母亲节） The earliest Mother"s Day celebrations can be traced back to the spring celebrations of ancient Greece in honor of Rhea, the Mother of the Gods. During the 1600"s, England celebrated a day called "Mothering Sunday". Celebrated on the 4th Sunday of Lent. In the United States Mother"s Day was first suggested in 1872 by Julia Ward Howe as a day dedicated to peace. By 1911 Mother"s Day was celebrated in almost every state. While many countries of the world celebrate their own Mother"s Day at different times throughout the year, there are some countries such as Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, and Belgium which also celebrate Mother"s Day on the second Sunday of May. 最早的母亲节庆祝可以追溯到古希腊的春天庆典，纪念众神之母尤希。在17世纪，英国在四旬斋的第四个星期天庆祝一个称为“母亲周日”的节日。在美国，母亲节最早在1872年，由朱丽娅·沃得·郝提出，作为一个关注和平的节日。到1911年，几乎所有的州都庆祝母亲节。 虽然世界各国的母亲节在不同的时间，很多国家，如丹麦，芬兰，意大利，土耳其，澳大利亚和比利时都在五月的第二个星期天庆祝母亲节。 （注：《圣经·新约》中一个魔鬼试探耶稣的故事。说的是魔鬼把耶稣困在旷野里，40天没有给耶稣吃东西，耶稣虽然饥饿，却没有接受魔鬼的诱惑。后来，为了纪念耶稣在这40天中的荒野禁食，信徒们就把每年复活节前的40天时间作为自己斋戒及忏悔的日子，叫做大斋节或者四旬斋（Lent）。据说，古希腊和古罗马的木神节、酒神节都是它的前身。这40天中，人们不能食肉，娱乐，生活肃穆沉闷，所以在斋期开始前的一周或半周内，人们会专门举行宴会、舞会、纵情欢乐。后来，这样的一个日子逐渐演变成为一个宗教习俗节日，拉丁语中叫做“Carnevale”，意思就是：“告别肉食”。Carnevale在英文中被译作Carnival（嘉年华或狂欢节）。如今已没有多少人坚守大斋期之类的清规戒律，但传统的狂欢活动却保留了下来，成为人们一个重要节日。） Boxing Day（礼盒节） In England a long time ago… Servants were required to work on Christmas. They were responsible for making the holiday run smoothly for wealthy landowners. They were allowed to take leave on December 26th and visit their families. The employers gave each servant a box containing gifts and bonuses. In addition, around the 800s" churches opened their alms boxes (boxes where people place monetary donations) and distributed the contents to poor. In England today… Few people have servants but the custom of giving gifts or money to those who provide service continues. It is also popular to visit grandparents and shop (the after Christmas discounts begin). Many people get the day off from work. Boxing Day is also celebrated in places where the English have settled like Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Our friends in Scotland tell us it is also celebrate there! Some places observe Boxing Day on December 26th and some celebrate it on the first weekday following Christmas, so, if Christmas falls on Friday or Saturday Boxing Day would be on the following Monday. Now, the actual origin of this holiday is debatable and has been debated, one idea being more popular than the other at a given time. 以前，由于佣人们必须在圣诞节工作，所以他们被允许在节后的第一天休假。雇主们日久成习，往往准备一些礼盒，在佣人们回家之前送给他们。到了今天，拥有仆人的家庭已经稀罕得很。不过给服务行业的人赠送礼物的习惯还在继续。 Halloween（万圣节前夜） Halloween is an annual celebration. The word itself, "Halloween," actually has its origins in the Catholic Church. November 1, "All Hollows Day" (or "All Saints Day"), is a Catholic day of observance in honor of saints One story says that, on that day, the disembodied spirits of all those who had died throughout the preceding year would come back in search of living bodies to possess for the next year. It was believed to be their only hope for the afterlife. The Celts believed all laws of space and time were suspended during this time, allowing the spirit world to intermingle with the living. Naturally, the still-living did not want to be possessed. So on the night of October 31, villagers would extinguish the fires in their homes, to make them cold and undesirable. They would then dress up in all manner of ghoulish costumes and noisily paraded around the neighborhood, being as destructive as possible in order to frighten away spirits looking for bodies to possess. So, although some cults may have adopted Halloween as their favorite "holiday," the day itself did not grow out of evil practices. It grew out of the rituals of Celts celebrating a new year, and out of Medieval prayer rituals of Europeans. And today, even many churches have Halloween parties or pumpkin carving events for the kids. Halloween这个词本身来源于天主教. 11月1日, "All Hollows Day" (or "All Saints Day"),称为万圣节, 是用于举行仪式尊敬圣人的天主教日.其中有一种说法是, 在那一天, 那些先前死去的还在飘浮的灵魂会回来为来年的复生找一些活人来附体. 他们认为这是转世的唯一希望. 教徒们深信这段时间内所有的时间及空间都是被悬浮的, 以便于让灵魂世界与我们的生活空间相混合. 活着的人自然不想被附身，所以10月30日的晚上, 村民会熄灭家中的火焰, 把家里弄得很冷,没人想来. 他们还会穿上各类象鬼一样的服装上街大声的**, 尽可能的搞些破坏来吓走那些想找人附体的鬼魂。因此, 尽管部分信徒可能已接受万圣节前夕为他们最喜爱的节日, 但这一天本身并不是来源于邪恶的惯例,而是由于凯尔特人庆祝新年和中世纪欧洲人的祈祷仪式. 今天, 甚至在很多教堂都会举行万圣节前夕晚会或让孩子们雕刻南瓜灯笼，到各家敲门玩TRICK OR TREAT的游戏。 April Fool"s Day（愚人节） Unlike most of the other nonfoolish holidays, the history of April Fool"s Day, sometimes called All Fool"s Day, is not totally clear. There really wasn"t a "first April Fool"s Day" that can be pinpointed on the calendar. Some believe it sort of evolved simultaneously in several cultures at the same time, from celebrations involving the first day of spring. The closest point in time that can be identified as the beginning of this tradition was in 1582, in France. Prior to that year, the New Year was celebrated for eight days, beginning on March 25. The celebration culminated on April 1. With the reform of the calendar under Charles IX, the Gregorian Calendar was introduced, and New Year"s Day was moved to January 1. However, in the days when news traveled by foot, many people did not receive the news for several years. Others, the more obstinate crowd, refused to accept the new calendar and continued to celebrate the New Year on April 1. These backward folk were labeled as "fools" by the general populace. They were subject to some ridicule, and were often sent on "fools errands" or were made the butt of other practical jokes. 1582年之前的法国，人们从3月25日开始庆祝新年，4月1日达到高潮。后来历法改革，新年移到1月1日。然而在那个资讯很落后的年代，消息传播是蜗牛速度。而且有些顽固人拒绝新的历法，仍然在4月1日庆贺新年。其他的老百姓就把那些顽固的人称为“傻瓜”，并且让他们做些愚蠢的事情来取笑他们。 （以下补充的是美国的节日） HOLIDAYS IN THE UNITED STATES There are three types of holidays in the United States: political holidays, traditional holidays, and religious holidays. There are more political holidays than any other type. The most important political holiday is Independence Day, the fourth of July. On this day we celebrate our independence from Great Britain. Most people spend the day with their family and friends. Picnics and barbecues are very popular. In addition, almost every city and town has a fireworks display at night. Another very important political holiday is Memorial Day, which falls on the last weekend in May. On this holiday we commemorate all the soldiers who died for our country. Many towns and cities have parades, and some people go to cemeteries and put flowers or flags on the soldiers" graves. A third important political holiday is Labor Day, which we celebrate on the first Monday in September. This is the day when we honor the workers of the United States. People watch parades, go on picnics, or go to the beach. For students, Labor Day is a bittersweet holiday, because when it is over they must begin school again. Besides these three political holidays, we also must begin school again. Besides these three political holidays, we also celebrate Presidents" Day on the third Monday in February. On this day we commemorate the birthdays of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.
