孩子们喜爱的节日.doc

历史文化节日篇西方传统节日趣谈王 全 凤同学们：学习任何一门语言，我们除了学习语言基础和语言技能外，还得了解和学习相应的风俗人情、传统节日和历史文化。现在让我们走出书本，走进西方的传统节日，你一定会有意想不到的收获。玩笑节愚人节（April Fools Day） 愚人节也称万愚节，是西方社会民间传统节日，每年的4月1日这一天，人们互相愚弄、开玩笑。它起源于法国，18世纪初，愚人节习俗传到英国，接着又被英国的早期移民带到了美国乃至世界各地。愚人节，人们常常组织家庭聚会，首先是用水仙花和雏菊把房间装饰一新。其次是鱼宴，也是别开生面的：请帖，通常是用纸板做成的彩色小鱼；餐桌用绿、白两色装饰起来；中间放上鱼缸和小巧玲珑的钓鱼竿，每个钓竿上系一条绿色飘带，挂着送给客人的礼物或是一个精巧的赛璐珞鱼，或是一个装满糖果的鱼篮子；不言而喻，鱼宴上所有的菜都是用鱼做成的。在愚人节的聚会上，还有一种做假菜的风俗。不过愚人节最典型的活动还是大家互相开玩笑，用假话捉弄对方。有的人把细线拴着的钱包丢在大街上，自己在暗处拉着线的另一端。一旦有人捡起钱包，他们就出其不意地猛然把钱包拽走。还有人把砖头放在破帽子下面搁在马路当中，然后等着看谁来了会踢它。小孩们会告诉父母说自己的书包破了个洞，或者脸上有个黑点等大人俯身来看时，他们就一边喊着“四月傻瓜”。一边笑着跑开去。总之，每逢愚人节这一天，动物园和水族馆还会接到不少打给菲什(鱼)先生成莱昂(狮子)先生的电话，常常惹得工作人员掐断电话线，以便减少麻烦。根据传统风格，在这一天人们可以任意开玩笑。但一般不超过中午12点，不要违法、不要违背伦理道德。 April Fools Day is a day to play jokes on others, No one knows how this holiday began but people think it first started in France. In the 16 th century, people celebrated New Years Day from March 25 to April 1. In the mid1560s King Charles IX changed it from March 25 to January 1. But some people still celebrated it on April 1, so others called them April Fools. Each country celebrates April Fools Day differently. In France, people call the April Fools “April Fish”. They tape a paper fish to their friends backs to fool them. When he or she finds this , they shout “April Fish!” In England, people play jokes only in the morning. You are a “noodle” if someone fools you. In Scotland, April Fools Day is 48 hours long. They call an April Fool “April Gowk”. Gowk is another name for a cuckoo bird. In America, people play small jokes on their friends and any other people on the first of Aprol. They may point down to your shoe and say, “ Your shoelace is untied.” If you believe them and look down to see, you are an April Fool then. 鬼节万圣节（Halloween）每年11月1日是西方传统“鬼节”万圣节。10月31日通常叫做万圣节前夜，它在孩子们眼中，是一个充满神秘色彩的节日，也是儿童们纵情玩乐的好时候。雕空南瓜做面具。万圣节夜幕降临，孩子们便迫不及待地穿上五颜六色的化妆服，戴上千奇百怪的面具，提上一盏“杰克灯”跑出去玩。“杰克灯”的样子十分可爱，做法是将南瓜掏空，外面刻上笑眯眯的眼睛和大嘴巴，然后在瓜中插上一支蜡烛，把它点燃，人们在很远的地方便能看到这张憨态可掬的笑脸。不请吃就捣乱（Trick or treat）。收拾停当后，一群群装扮成妖魔鬼怪的孩子手提“杰克灯”，跑到邻居家门前，威吓般地喊着：“要恶作剧还是给款待”、“给钱还是给吃的”。如果大人不用糖果、零钱款待他们，那些调皮的孩子就说到做到：好，你不款待，我就捉弄你。他们有时把人家的门把手涂上肥皂，有时把别人的猫涂上颜色。这些小恶作剧常令大人啼笑皆非。当然，大多数人家都非常乐于款待这些天真烂漫的小客人。所以万圣节前夜的孩子们总是肚子塞得饱饱的，口袋装得满满的。万圣节前夜最流行的游戏是“咬苹果”。游戏时，人们让苹果漂浮在装满水的盆里，然后让孩子们在不用手的条件下用嘴去咬苹果，谁先咬到，谁就是优胜者。到了晚上，美国的街上也四处可见精彩的现场表演：幻觉魔术、逼真的游尸和鬼魂、鬼屋、恐怖电影等。如鬼屋的内容，则大多与电影主题有关：神鬼传奇、星际传奇、鬼故事这些场景的布置、化妆技术和戏服，有如真的情境，一不留神，肯定令人惊声尖叫。Todays Traditions of HalloweenThe American tradition of trick-or-treating probably dates back to the early All Souls Day parades in England. During the festivities, poor citizens would beg for food and families would give them pastries called soul cakes in return for their promise to pray for the familys dead relatives.The distribution of soul cakes was encouraged by the church as a way to replace the ancient practice of leaving food and wine for roaming spirits. The practice, which was referred to as going a-souling was eventually taken up by children who would visit the houses in their neighborhood and be given ale, food, and money. The tradition of dressing in costume for Halloween has both European and Celtic roots. Hundreds of years ago, winter was an uncertain and frightening time. Food supplies often ran low and, for the many people afraid of the dark, the short days of winter were full of constant worry. On Halloween, when it was believed that ghosts came back to the earthly world, people thought that they would encounter ghosts if they left their homes. To avoid being recognized by these ghosts, people would wear masks when they left their homes after dark so that the ghosts would mistake them for fellow spirits. On Halloween, to keep ghosts away from their houses, people would place bowls of food outside their homes to appease the ghosts and prevent them from attempting to enter.吃喝节-感恩节（Thanksgiving Day） 感恩节是美国和加拿大共有的节日，由美国独创，是美国国定假日中最地道、最美国式的节日，原意是为了感谢上天赐予的好收成，自1941年起，每年11月的第四个星期四是感恩节，休假两天。而加拿大与美国不同，起始于1879年，每年10月的第二个星期一是感恩节。在这一天，具有各种信仰和各种背景的北美人，共同为他们一年来所受到的上苍恩典表示感谢，虔诚地祈求上帝继续赐福。像中国的春节一样，在这一天，人们不管多忙，都要和自己的家人团聚，许多年来感恩节的庆祝模式从未改变，丰盛的家宴早在几个月之前就开始着手准备。人们在餐桌上可以吃到苹果、桔子、栗子、胡桃和葡萄，还有葡萄干布丁、碎肉馅饼等各种食物以及红莓苔汁和鲜果汁，当然，其中最妙和最吸引人的大菜还是烤火鸡和番瓜馅饼，这些菜一直是感恩节中最富于传统意义和最受人喜爱的食品。人人都赞成感恩节大餐必需以烤火鸡为主菜。火鸡在烘烤时要以面包作填料以吸收从中流出来的美味汁液，但烹饪技艺常因家庭和地区的不同而各异，应用什么填料也就花样百出。 Thanksgiving Day is the most truly American of the national holidays in the United States and is most closely connected with the earliest history of the country. The pattern of the Thanksgiving celebration has never changed through the years. The big family dinner is planned months ahead. On the dinner table, people will find apples, oranges, chestnuts, walnuts and grapes. There will be plum pudding, mince pie, other varieties of food and cranberry juice and squash. The best and most attractive among them are roast turkey and pumpkin pie. They have been the most traditional and favorite food on Thanksgiving Day throughout the years. Everyone agrees the dinner must be built around roast turkey stuffed with a bread dressing to absorb the tasty juices as it roasts. But as cooking varies with families and with the regions where one lives, it is not easy to get a consensus on the precise kind of stuffing for the royal bird. Thanksgiving today is in every sense, a national annual holiday on which Americans of all faiths and backgrounds join in to express their thanks for the year s bounty and reverently ask for continued blessings. 新年-圣诞节（Christmas）按照圣经上的记载， 12月25日为圣诞节，是基督教徒纪念耶稣诞生的日子。12月24日夜被称为平安夜或圣诞夜，从这一天起到翌年1月6日为圣诞节节期，节日期间，各国基督教徒都要举行隆重的纪念仪式。圣诞节本来是基督教徒的节日，由于人们格外重视，它便成为一个全民性的节日，是西方国家一年中最盛大的节日，可以和新年相提并论，类似我国的春节。 西方人以红、绿、白三色为圣诞色，圣诞节来临时家家户户都要用圣诞色来装饰。人们往往用杉、柏一类呈塔形的常青树来装饰悬挂五颜六色的彩灯、礼物和纸花制成圣诞树，还点燃着圣诞蜡烛，红色与白色相映成趣的是穿戴着红底镶白边的衣服和帽子的圣诞老人，他是圣诞节活动中最受欢迎的人物，平安夜孩子们上床时，都要在壁炉前或枕头旁放上一只袜子，等候圣诞老人在他们入睡后把渴望的礼物放在袜子内。因为相传圣诞老人生活在北极，他坐着驯鹿拉的装满礼物的雪橇在天上奔驰，不时会停留在屋顶上，从烟囱爬到屋内，送给孩子们礼物。不过他们的父母亲一般都要警告孩子们不要企图看圣诞老人，否则圣诞老人将不会给他们留下任何东西。孩子们在圣诞节的早晨总是非常兴奋，醒得很早。同时，圣诞节也是合家欢庆的日子，家庭成员们尽可能聚到一起吃呀，玩派对游戏呀，看圣诞特别电视节目呀December 25th is Christmas Day.It is the biggest festival(节日)celebrated in the Christian countries of the world. On Christmas Day, many people will have big parties. They like eating turkey（火鸡）, fruits and drinking some juice for supper. After supper, many people will go out for shopping and walking (walk) with their children. There are a lot of special things: Christmas trees, socks, Christmas card and some presents. So in Christmas Day, all the families are very happy.Although everyone enjoys Christmas Day,it is particularly enjoyed by children,who get very excited because of the presents they know they are going to receive.Small children believe that their presents are brought by Father Christmas(圣诞老人).Father Christmas is a kind of old man who,the children are told,lives at the Nor