万圣节丨死与生的对话
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今天是万圣节前夕（Halloween），人们通常会用派对、装扮和糖果来庆祝这个节日。这一天也因此成为了一个大型商业狂欢日——即使是在中国亦是如此。就在我最近来逛清华园附近的易初莲花超市时，正好看到了一些“南瓜灯笼”、服饰装扮以及其他令人spooky（毛骨悚然的）装饰物。
在去年的万圣节前夕推送《从《灵异第六感》看“鬼魂”：你是否有应做而未做之事呢？》中，我将中国传统的中元节和西方的万圣节前夕做了比较，分析了中西文化中鬼魂观念上的相通之处以及差异。
尽管很多人都知道万圣节前夕有假期，但不是每个人都了解它实际上起源于一个神圣的日子。每年的11月1日是万圣节（All Saints’ Day，又称诸圣节），而之后的11月2日则是万灵节（All Souls’ Day，又称追思亡灵日）。
万圣节前夕：10月31日
Halloween: October 31
万圣节前夕（Halloween）的词根“hallow”意思是“神圣的”，它的后缀“een”是“evening”（晚上）的缩写。这里指的是万圣节前夜，即诸圣节前夜，这是基督教徒们用来纪念故去的圣人们的节日。所以，从基督教的角度来分析，万圣节前夕就是庆祝诸圣节前夜的瞻礼。
在中国，“万圣节前夕”（Halloween）往往是翻译成“万圣节”。这样的翻译是不准确的，因为所谓的Halloween指的是诸圣节的前一天晚上，就像中国人会把春节定在除夕定为春节的前一天晚上一样。在天主教中，“前夕”（vigil）是指弥撒会在星期日（主日）或瞻礼日之前的夜晚进行。
在文化上，根据同一时期的凯尔特和其他的传说，万圣节前夕实际上已经成为了一个与宗教无关的节日。然而，对于这个节日来说，基督教和最初凯尔特的习俗都认为它与生者和死者之间的联系有关。
诸圣节：11月1日
All Saints' Day: November 1
在诸圣节期间——也可称作是万圣节，我们会特别纪念并恭敬所有已升天的圣人、圣女。
“圣人”是指一位过着神圣而高尚的生活的人，在通过了圣教会宣圣的程序后，他们被认为将会在死后升入天国。历史上著名的圣人包括圣母玛利亚和圣若瑟，他们被教会认为已经在天堂里实现了eternity（永恒）。普通的信徒也可以进入天堂，但他们只是没有被教会“认定”而已。
纵观历史，一共有超过10000名圣徒受到圣品封号。诸圣节这一天就是所有这些圣徒接受人们崇敬的日子。当然这也是一个学习他们各种奇闻轶事的好机会，敬仰他们的品德，从他们艰苦的奋斗中汲取灵感，并立志效仿他们让自己成为更好的人。
同时，我们之间存在一种精神上的联系。圣人在天堂了解我们的生活中的困苦并知道我们的祈祷，他们为我们祈祷（被称为代祷）。虽然我们随时都可以主动寻求他们为我们祈祷，但我们在诸圣瞻礼时要特别地去反思自己与圣人的精神联系。他们与上主的距离十分相近，因此可以能够为我们转求上主。就像是天堂里有一个家人在保佑着我们。
一个常见的误解是天主教徒敬拜圣人，包括圣母玛利亚，但这并不是真的。天主教徒恭敬上主，但只是尊崇(尊敬)圣徒。我们求圣人为我们祈求上主而已，寻求那些天堂里朋友们的帮助。但最后，所有的祈祷最终都归属于上主。
与万圣节前夕常见的对鬼魂的恐惧不同，我们与圣人的精神交流是积极而令人鼓舞的。他们虽然在世俗中已然故去，但他们仍然在天堂中徜徉，用祈祷和引导帮助我们前进。与此同时，诸圣节也号召我们所有人都要像圣人一样生活，提醒我们应该怎样生活。
追思亡者日：11月2日
All Souls' Day: November 2
在追思亡者日（又称亡人节)，我们缅怀那些已经消逝的灵魂，求主怜悯他们。我们为死者祈祷，也请他们为我们祈福。然而，这种与死者的关系是通过上主来进行的。我们在这一天纪念deceased（已故的）亲人，并为他们永恒的救赎祈祷。
为了纪念逝者，很多国家的文化都提倡为死者的灵魂准备食物，点燃蜡烛，在亲人的坟墓上留下鲜花，用圣水anoint（擦拭）墓碑。例如，墨西哥的万灵节（Día de los Muertos）是一个全国性的节日，现世的家庭成员们会访问墓地来纪念他们的文化和缅怀去世的先人。
墨西哥的万灵节
中国家庭一般会在清明节到先辈的墓碑前扫墓。如今这一天已经成为了一个法定的节假日，这一传统植根于儒家文化中尊敬逝者的精神，但它并不包含有一种宗教上的意涵或是祈求主的内容。
尽管万圣节前夕的各种商业庆祝活动让人“心惊胆战”，但这个节日实际上是我们与死者相联系更宏大的observance（纪念活动）其中的一部分。这种关系不是基于恐惧和黑暗，而是基于希望和光明。就像夜晚（万圣节前夕）让位于白天（诸圣节）一样，我们也可以邀请先人们为我们更好的生活而祈福。他们一定会欣然接受我们的请求。
我们也可以借此机会铭记先自己一步而去的所爱之人，尊重他们的生命，从他们的故事中得到抚慰和启发，为他们永远的幸福祈祷——并请他们为我们祈祷。
我的朋友，万圣节前夕是一个从恐惧到信仰、从痛苦中获得力量的机会。这是一个解决任何阻碍我们前进的未竟事业的机会。我们也可以向死者致敬，从圣人身上汲取力量，反思他们的故事或唤醒他们的祈祷。最后，我们可以看到死亡只是生命的转变，是所有人更广泛存在之意义的一部分。
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Halloween: how do you
relate to the dead?
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「 Hello, my friend！
I'm John Smagula. 」
Today is Halloween, a day that is now celebrated by parties, costumes, and candy. It has become a large commercial affair with lots of revelry, even in China. On my recent visit to the Lotus Mart near the Tsinghua campus, I saw a display with jack-o-lanterns, costumes, and other spooky decorations.
In last year’s Halloween post, “Sixth Sense” and Ghosts: do you have unfinished business?, I compared Halloween in the West to China’s Hungry Ghost Festival, reflecting on our shared—and different—concepts of ghosts.
Even though many people know the secular holiday of Halloween, not everybody knows it derives from a holy day, All Saints’ Day on Nov. 1, which is followed by All Souls’ Day on Nov. 2.
Halloween: October 31
The root word of Halloween, “hallow,” means “holy.” The suffix "een" is an abbreviation of “evening.” It refers to All Hallows’ Eve, the night before All Saints’ Day, the Christian holy day that honors saintly people of the past. So, from a Christian perspective, Halloween is simply the vigil that is celebrated before All Saints’ Day.
In China, “Halloween” is often translated as “All Saints’ Day.” This translation is inaccurate, as Halloween is really the eve before All Saints’ Day, akin to the way Chinese New Year’s Eve is the eve before Chinese New Year’s Day. In the Catholic Church, a “vigil” is a mass that takes place the evening before a Sunday or Holy Day.
Culturally, Halloween has become a secular holiday, based on Celtic and other traditions once observed at around this same time of year. However, both the Christian and original Celtic practices relate to the interaction between the living and the dead.
All Saints' Day: November 1
On All Saints’ Day, also known as All Hallows’ Day, we honor and respect all the saints from Christian history.
A “saint” is a person who led a holy and virtuous life, and through the process of canonization in the Church, is believed to be in heaven after death. Famous saints, such as St. Mary and St. Joseph, have thus been settled by the Church as being in heaven for eternity. Ordinary believers also enter heaven, but they just haven’t been “confirmed” by the Church as being there.
Throughout history, over 10,000 people have been sainted. All Saints’ Day is the day when all of these saints are honored. It is a chance to learn the story of their lives, admire their virtues, draw inspiration from their struggle with hardships, and aspire to emulate them to become better people ourselves.
At the same time, there is a spiritual relationship between us. Saints in heaven know of our struggles on earth and of our prayers, and they pray for us (known as intercessory prayers). Although we can always ask for their prayers, during the All Saints’ Day festival, we specifically reflect on our spiritual connection. Their proximity to God in heaven enables them to pray on our behalf. It’s like having a family in heaven that wishes us well.
A common misunderstanding is that Catholics worship saints, including St. Mary. This is not true. Catholics worship God, but only venerate (respect) the saints. Our prayers to saints are only for intercession, invoking the support of our friends in heaven. But in the end, all prayers are directed toward God.
Unlike the fear of ghosts common in Halloween, our spiritual interaction with saints is positive and inspiring. Dead on earth, they are alive in heaven, and their prayer energy and guidance help us along our way. At the same time, All Saints’ Day is a call for us all to live as saints, to remind us how we’re supposed to live.
All Souls' Day: November 2
On All Souls’ Day, we remember the souls of all those who have died and ask God’s mercy for them. We pray for the dead and ask them to pray for us. Yet this relationship with the dead is through God. We remember deceased relatives on this day and pray for their eternal salvation.
To remember the departed, many cultures prepare meals for the souls of the dead, light candles, leave flowers on relatives’ graves, and anoint tombstones with holy water. For example, this day in Mexico, the Día de los Muertos, is a national holiday where families visit cemeteries to celebrate their cultural beliefs about the spirit world and honor the dead.
Dia de los Muertos
In China, Chinese families traditionally visit the tombs to sweep tombstones of their ancestors during the Qingming Festival. This tradition, now a national holiday, is grounded in Confucian practices of honoring the deceased, but does not necessarily include a spiritual component or prayer for intercession.
Despite the scary imagery of the commercial Halloween celebrations, the holiday is really part of a larger observance of our relationship with the dead. This relationship is not based on fear and darkness, but on hope and light. Just as night (Halloween) gives in to day (All Saints’ Day), so can we invite the saints to pray for us to get to a better place. They delight in our requests.
We can also remember our own loved ones who have gone before us. We can honor their lives, draw comfort and inspiration from their stories, and pray for their eternal wellbeing—and ask them to pray for us.
My friend, Halloween is a chance to go from fear to faith, from pain to power. It is a chance to resolve any unfinished business that is holding us back. We can also honor the dead and draw strength from the saints, reflecting on their stories or invoking their prayers. In the end, we can see that death is just a change of life, a part of everyone’s much larger existence.
{ 今日英文速记卡 }
1.Spooky \ˈspü-kē \
a)含义：adj. 吓人的；恐怖的
b)例句：
i.On my recent visit to the Lotus Mart near the Tsinghua campus, I saw a display with jack-o-lanterns, costumes, and other spooky decorations.
我最近来逛清华园附近的易初莲花超市时，我却看到了一个“南瓜灯笼”，一些服饰装扮以及其他令人毛骨悚然的装饰物。
ii.Every time I pass by funeral homes or cemeteries, even in broad daylight, I always have that kind of spooky feeling that ghosts will appear.
这个人说："每当我走过殡仪馆或墓地的时候，那怕是大白天，我总是感到阴森森，好像鬼就会出现似的。
c)近义词： creepy, eerie, haunting
2.Eternity
\ i-ˈtər-nə-tē \
a)含义： n. 不朽；永恒
b)例句：
i.Famous saints, such as St. Mary and St. Joseph, have thus been settled by the Church as being in heaven for eternity.
历史上著名的圣徒包括圣母玛利亚和圣若瑟，他们被教会认为已经在天堂里实现了永恒。
ii.Why not invest enough passion in each moment to make it an eternity?
为何不投入足够的激情于每一瞬间将其铸为永恒呢？
c)近义词： everlasting, forever, perpetuity
3.Deceased \ di-ˈsēst \
a)含义：adj. 已死的；亡故的
b)例句：
i.We remember deceased relatives on this day and pray for their eternal salvation.
我们在这一天纪念已故的亲人，并为他们永恒的救赎祈祷。
ii.The procession proceeded, with feverish slowness, from the house of the deceased, by way of the boulevards as far as the Bastille.
送葬行列从死者的府邸，以激动而沉重的步伐，经过几条大路，慢慢走到了巴士底广场。
c)近义词： dead, demised, departed
4.Anoint \ ə-ˈnȯint \
a)含义：v. 给…涂油
b)例句：
i.To remember the departed, many cultures prepare meals for the souls of the dead, light candles, leave flowers on relatives’ graves, and anoint tombstones with holy water.
为了纪念逝者，很多国家的文化都提倡为死者的灵魂准备食物，点燃蜡烛，在亲人的坟墓上留下鲜花，用圣水擦拭墓碑。
ii.Prepare the table, watch in the watchtower, eat, drink: arise, ye princes, and anoint the shield.
他们摆设筵席，派人守望，又吃又喝。 首领啊，你们起来，用油抹盾牌。
c)近义词： bless, consecrate, ordain
5.Observance
\ əb-ˈzər-vən(t)s \
a)含义：n. 仪式；惯例
b)例句：
i.Despite the scary imagery of the commercial Halloween celebrations, the holiday is really part of a larger observance of our relationship with the dead.
尽管万圣节前夕的商业庆祝活动让人心惊胆战，但这个节日实际上是我们与死者相联系更宏大的纪念活动其中的一部分。
ii.The Ides of March took on special significance after Caesar's assassination—but observance of the anniversary at the time varied among Roman citizens.
在凯撒被暗杀之后，三月的第十五日被蒙上了一层特殊的涵义。 但当时在民间举行的周年纪念的仪式还是丰富多彩的。
c)近义词： ceremony, rite, solemnity
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