Sometimes it's good to play on the dark side

萬圣節(jié)：“玩壞”一下又何妨

萬圣節(jié)(Halloween)，作為“洋節(jié)”正在日益被中國年輕人所接受，在老外眼中這個節(jié)日蘊含了怎樣的理念?在中國過這個節(jié)日，又能看出怎樣的文化差異?

The first time that I celebrated Halloween in China, I was walking down a street of bars and nightclubs. I was carrying a walking stick while wearing a long black leather overcoat and a rubber mask that I had just bought. The mask looked like the face of a withered old man with stringy white hair, so that I must have looked like an undertaker.

記得我初次在中國過“萬圣節(jié)”時，走在一條滿是酒吧、夜總會的小街上，手拿拐杖，身披黑色皮衣，頭戴一副剛剛買來的橡膠面具。面具就像一位面容槁枯，白發(fā)稀疏的老人，所以我看上去應該就如同一位送葬者一般吧。

As I passed the open doorway of a small club I stopped, turned, and stared into the eyes of a hostess. She screamed and ran inside. So, I followed her into the club, behind the bar, through the kitchen and out through the rear door into an alleyway, with her running and screaming the whole time.

路過一家夜總會時，我在敞開的店門前停下腳步，轉(zhuǎn)頭盯著一位女招待的眼睛。她頓時被嚇得尖叫起來，跑進屋子。于是我就跟著她走進夜總會，來到吧臺后面，穿過廚房，最終從后門來到背街上，一路上她只是不停地奔跑和尖叫。

Now, I am not proud of doing this to the poor woman, but the point is that somehow Halloween gives you an excuse to be something you’re not, usually something dark, scaryand powerful. It’s a difficult temptation to resist taking it a little too far sometimes.

現(xiàn)在回想來，嚇唬這位可憐女士的行為并不值得炫耀，不過，“萬圣節(jié)”確實還是給你一個機會，把自己打扮得黑暗、恐怖并且強大。有時候，想要抵擋住這種惡搞的念頭，還真不是很容易。

China has a long history with ghosts. For many people, these spirits are a very real part of the world and are treated with wary respect and fear.

在中國，關于鬼怪傳說由來已久。對許多人來說，魂靈是真實世界的一部分，必須心懷敬畏，真情以待。

In China, most such apparitions are the spirits of dead ancestors who must be constantlyappeased with votive offerings of food, incense and paper money. This is no laughing matter, and tending to the needs of the departed is one of a family’s biggest social responsibilities.

中國人常常認為，這些鬼魂大都是祖先的魂靈，一定要用食物、香火和紙錢來祭奠他們。這是一件需要嚴肅對待的事情，滿足亡靈的心愿成為許多家庭最為看重的社會責任。

In the US, we are more playful with our ghosts and our superstitions. We treat Halloween as a time of macabre celebration.

而在美國，對于鬼魂和靈異事件，我們更多是抱有一種娛樂的心態(tài)。我們將“萬圣節(jié)”視為一個駭人的狂歡節(jié)。

Children in school make their own crazy costumes and have various contests for which one is most creative, or scariest, or best overall. There is candy and trick-or-treating, of course, and lots of pictures of black cats, witches riding broomsticks, skeletons and jack o’lanterns.

學校里，孩子們制作奇裝異服，并展開競賽，選出哪一件作品最新穎、最恐怖或是整體效果最佳。糖果和“不請客就搗亂”游戲，黑貓卡片、巫婆的掃帚、骷髏和南瓜燈都是萬圣節(jié)必不可少的元素。

Although most Halloween props are made here, Chinese themselves don’t celebrate it in the same way.

盡管大多數(shù)的“萬圣節(jié)”道具是中國制造，但中國人慶祝萬圣節(jié)的方式卻不盡相同。

The idea of having a costume party is being imported to the larger towns and cities by Western influence, and so far it’s almost exclusively an "adult" thing.

受西方文化影響，中國的一些大型城鎮(zhèn)和市區(qū)會舉辦化妝舞會;不過，目前它還只是成年人的專利。

In my own town we have a big costume party every year at my favorite local pub, and every year more Chinese are getting involved.

每年在我居住的城鎮(zhèn)里，我們每年都會在一家我經(jīng)常光顧的酒吧舉辦大型化妝舞會，而參加人數(shù)也是逐年增加。

Halloween gives you permission to be silly, to be terrifying, to be weird, and in fact it rewards you for it.

“萬圣節(jié)”這天，你可以盡情享受，或荒唐可笑，或令人害怕，或舉止古怪，而你從中也會受益良多。

The scary festival can give anyone a safe venue for playing dress-up for a day.

“萬圣節(jié)”為所有人營造了一種舒適的氛圍，人們可以一整天穿著奇異的裝束而不必擔心遭到嘲笑。

People can take on new personalities, and reinvent themselves according to their wildest flight of fancy. They might actually discover something new about their inner spirit that will last the rest of the year.

人們可以自由想象，天馬行空，挖掘打造出一個全新的自我。有些人或許真的在內(nèi)心發(fā)現(xiàn)了新大陸，而這種全新的面貌也將持續(xù)到新年到來時。

[在中國如何過萬圣節(jié)Halloween中英對照]