Festivals are meant to celebrate important times of year. Different countries have different festivals. Festivals and celebrations of all kinds have been held everywhere since ancient times. Most ancient festivals would celebrate the end of cold weather, planting in spring and harvest in autumn. This unit is going to introduce two famous festivals.

Passage 1 A Traditional Holiday—The First Halloween

[A] Hundreds of years before the birth of Christ, the Celts—the inhabitants of parts of France and the British Isles—held a festival at the beginning of every winter for the Lord of the Dead. The Celts believed that this god ruled the world in winter, when he called together the ghosts of dead people. On October 31, people believed these spirits of the dead came back to earth in the forms of animals. They thought that very bad ghosts came back as black cats. At their festival on this day, the Celts used to make big fires to frighten the ghosts and chase them away. This celebration was the beginning of the holiday of Halloween.

[B] The Romans, who ruled the British Isles after the birth of Christ, also held a celebration at the beginning of winter. Because this was harvest time, the Romans brought apples and nuts for the goddess of gardens. Later, the Christians added their customs to those of the Celts and the Romans. They had a religious holiday on November 1 for the saints (the unusually good people in Christianity), which they called All Hallows’ or All Saints’ Day. The evening before this day was All Hallows’ Even (“holy evening”); later the name became Halloween.

[C] Long ago in Britain, people used to go to wise old women called “witches” to learn about the future. They believed that these witches had the power to tell the future and to use magic words to protect people or change them. There were many beliefs about witches, who are now a symbol of Halloween. For example, people believed witches flew on broomsticks to big, secret meetings, here they ate, sang, and danced. The Christians tried to stop people from believing in witches, but many uneducated people, especially in the countryside, held on to their beliefs.

[D] When people came to North America from the British Isles, they brought their Halloween customs with them. Today, Halloween is a night when children dress up like ghosts, witches, devils, and so on. They go from house to house in their costumes, ring doorbells, and shout, “Trick or treat!” People give them candy, apples, gum, and nuts, and the children have a good time. But most children have no idea that their holiday has such a long history.

Notes to the Text

Celts 凯尓特人The Celts were a group of peoples that occupied lands stretching from the British Isles to Galatia. The Celts had many dealings with other cultures that bordered the lands occupied by these peoples. 历史学家们推断，凯尓特人是英国最早的土著，他们过着原始生活，有自己的语言。

the British Isles 不列颠 

magic words 咒语

the Lord of the Dead 亡者之神

these spirits… in the form of animals. 死人的灵魂以动物的形式回到人间。

very bad ghosts came back as black cats. 非常邪恶的鬼魂以黑猫的形式回来（人间）。

goddess of gardens 花园女神，此处指罗马文化中掌管花园和水果的女神。

the Christians 基督徒

All Hallows’ or All Saints’ Day 诸圣日，万圣节 Today the day is known as Halloween. Some people think that Halloween celebrates evil and should be banned. Just the opposite is true!

"Halloween" is a short form of the words "All Hallows Evening". "Hallow" means holy, as in "Hallowed be thy name...". So Halloween means "the evening before All Holy Ones' Day," the Christian feast of All Saints. Every Year Christians celebrate this feast on November 1.
During the Middle Ages, Christians would gather in Churches for worship. They would recall the saints' victories over evil. At some of these services, the Churches would put on little plays in which they acted out Jesus' victory over Satan and his forces. The actors would wear unusual masks and costumes to act out the story.

So, when Christians celebrate Halloween, we are really recalling that Jesus has defeated evil by His death and resurrection. We remind ourselves that with the power of FAITH and God's GRACE we can overcome evil, too. Happy Holy Evening!

these witches had the power to tell the future. 这些女巫有预测未来的能力。

a symbol of Halloween 万圣节的一个象征

flew on broomsticks 骑着扫帚飞翔

hold on to their beliefs: stick to their beliefs 坚持他们的信仰

they brought their Halloween customs with them. 他们也带来了万圣节的风俗。 

children dress up like ghosts, witches, devils, and so on. 孩子们装扮成幽灵、女巫、魔鬼等模样。

have no idea—don’t know

Vocabulary

Nouns

Christ—Jesus Christ 耶稣·基督  

Inhabitant— person living in a place  

Symbol —sign, mark, object, etc. looked as representing sth. 象征

Origin—starting-point 起源，开端

Festival—节日，It refers to a day or season for merry-making or public celebrations. While holiday（假日） means a day of rest from work.

Ghost & spirit—A ghost is the spirit of a dead person appearing to sb still living, while spirit can also refer to the soul.

Goddess—female God

Broomstick—handle of a broom(on which witches were said to ride through the air )扫帚柄

Devil—the spirit of evil; wicked spirit; cruel or mischievous person（恶魔；魔鬼；残暴的人；恶人）

Costume—style of dress 服装的式样；服装

Candy—sweets糖果

Gum—透明软糖，口香糖

Verb

Frighten—to fill sb with fright or terror 惊吓，使害怕

Adjectives

Religious—of religion 宗教的，宗教信仰的

Holy—of God; associated with God or with religion 上帝的；与上帝或宗教有关的；神圣的

Magic—(亦作magical)done by, or as if by magic; possessing magic; used in magic 由魔术造成的；好像出于魔术的；有魔术的；用于魔术方面的 E.g. magic arts/words

Uneducated—not educated

Phrases

Chase away—drive sb/sth away; force sb/sth to run away

Dress up—to put on special clothes as for a party, etc. 打扮 E.g. She is going to dress herself up for the party tonight.

Ring doorbells—按门铃

“Trick or treat!”—The "trick" part of "trick or treat" is a threat to play a trick on the homeowner or his property if no treat is given.（不给糖果就捣蛋！）

Culture Note

In today’s open and communicative world, every year a lot of students choose to go abroad to continue their study. According to the official statistics, the number of Chinese international students all over the world has reached 460, 000; most of them are in the United States and Britain. China now has become one of the major sources of the international students in America. A recent new phenomenon in this trend is an alarming increase in a “younger” group—high school graduates. Similarly, students in other countries choose to go overseas to study. However, there is a noticeable difference in their choices. Chinese parents would like to send their children to developed countries despite the huge economic pressure, while the western parents are more free and open-minded. They would make a decision according to their children’s opinion and the family finance. They don’t mind if their children choose a country less developed than their own.