Book 3 Unit 3 Reading

Unit 3  Two Very Different Ghost Festivals

1. 課文

People in Taiwan and in the United States each have their own special ghost festival. In Taiwan, the seventh lunar month is ¹generally ²regarded as Ghost Month, and the Ghost Festival is held on the fifteenth day of this month. In the United States, the ghost festival is on the evening of October 31, and it is known as Halloween.

台灣人和美國人各自都有其特殊的鬼節。在台灣，農曆第七個月份普遍被視為鬼月，而中元節的慶典則是在此月的第十五天舉行。在美國，鬼節則是在十月三十一日晚上，稱為萬聖節前夕。

In Chinese culture, it is believed that the gates of ³hell are opened on the first day of Ghost Month. At this time, ghosts and ⁴spirits are allowed to visit the earth for one month. In order to show respect for these ghosts, people call them “good brothers.”

在中國文化裡，據信地獄的大門會在鬼月的第一天開啟。這時鬼魂被允許在人間逗留一個月。為了表示對這些鬼魂的尊敬，人們稱呼它們為「好兄弟」。

The Ghost Festival is such an important occasion that families and businesses in Taiwan often make offerings of food to “good brothers” and burn “ghost money” for good ⁵fortune. Another ⁶traditional ⁷activity during this festival is to ⁸float paper lanterns on lakes and rivers. These lanterns are used to give lost ghosts ⁹directions to an annual feast that is held for them.

鬼月是如此重要的節日，以至於台灣的家庭和商家通常會準備祭品來供奉「好兄弟」，並且會燒「紙錢」來求得好運。這個節慶的另一項傳統活動是在湖裡和河裡放水燈。這些水燈是用來為孤魂野鬼指引方向，好讓他們前往參加為他們舉辦的年度盛宴。

In addition, people in Taiwan do not ¹⁰whistle at night during Ghost Month because they believe that when ghosts hear the sound, they would follow the person who is whistling. Most people do not get married during this month, either. Although not all people in Taiwan ¹¹believe in ghosts, most of them still have a ¹²certain respect for the Ghost Festival.

除此之外，台灣人在鬼月期間的夜晚不吹口哨，因為他們相信鬼魂聽到口哨聲時會跟隨吹口哨的人。大多數人也不會在鬼月結婚。雖然不是所有的台灣人都相信有鬼魂的存在，其中大部分的人仍對鬼節存有某種程度的敬意。

¹³As for Halloween, it was originally a serious ¹⁴event in ancient Britain and Ireland. People at that time believed that the souls of the dead ¹⁵emerged from the darkness on Halloween. Therefore, people wore scary masks and carried jack-o’-lanterns in order to scare away the ¹⁶evil spirits. Families also made offerings of food to the spirits of their ¹⁷ancestors so as to welcome them back. Some families even set ¹⁸extra seats at tables for ¹⁹relatives who had recently ²⁰passed away. Later, people gradually became less serious about these old Halloween traditions. After British and Irish ²¹immigrants ²²settled in America, Halloween became an evening of fun instead of fear.

至於萬聖節前夕，它起初在古英國和愛爾蘭是個嚴肅的活動。那個時候的人們相信亡者的靈魂會在這天從黑暗中出現。因此，人們戴著恐怖面具並提著南瓜燈籠來嚇走惡靈。家家戶戶也會準備食物給祖靈，以歡迎他們回來。一些家庭甚至會在桌子旁準備額外的座位給剛過世的親人。之後，人們漸漸地不再那麼認真看待這些萬聖節前夕的古老傳統。英國和愛爾蘭的移民定居美洲後，萬聖節前夕便成了歡樂之夜，而不是恐懼之夜。

Today, Halloween has become such a joyful festival that both children and adults can have fun. Children ²³look forward to ²⁴dressing up as ghosts, witches, or monsters and going trick-or-treating. They go ²⁵from door to door and say “Trick or treat?” so as to get candy. Even adults often go to costume parties on this night.

如今，萬聖節前夕已經變成如此歡樂的節慶，以至於孩童和大人都能玩得很開心。孩童們期待裝扮成鬼怪、巫婆或是怪物，出門玩「不給糖就搗蛋」的遊戲。他們挨家挨戶高喊「不給糖就搗蛋！」，以獲得糖果。甚至大人們通常會在這晚去參加化妝舞會。

Halloween has become a time of fun, while the Ghost Festival in Taiwan is still a serious occasion. Although these two ghost festivals are quite different, it does not change the fact that ghosts and spirits are still an important part of different cultures today.

萬聖節前夕已經演變成玩樂的時刻，而台灣的中元節依然是個嚴肅慎重的節日。雖然這兩個鬼節截然不同，但是這並不會改變鬼魂和靈體在今日仍是不同文化中重要的一部分這個事實。