Jack o' Lanterns

Jack -o -lanterns, written by Marcy Abuff. Focus question. How did the tradition of carving jack -o -lanterns begin? And how have jack -o -lanterns changed over time?

《南瓜灯》，作者：玛西·阿巴夫。 核心问题 雕刻南瓜灯的传统是怎么起源的呢？ 一直以来南瓜灯又发生了哪些变化呢？

What is a jack -o -lantern? Carved pumpkins are called jack -o -lanterns. Jack -o -lanterns are popular decorations around Halloween. Simple jack -o -lanterns are carved with spooky faces or a toothy grin. People started carving pumpkins more than a hundred years ago. Stories say the jack -o -lantern tradition began in Ireland before that though. People in Ireland carved turnips or potatoes instead.

什么是南瓜灯？ 被雕刻过的南瓜就叫做南瓜灯。 南瓜灯是万圣节期间很受欢迎的装饰品。 简单的南瓜灯会刻上吓人的脸或者露齿笑的表情。 人们早在一百多年前就开始雕刻南瓜了。 不过传说南瓜灯的传统在那之前就起源于爱尔兰了。 那时候爱尔兰人是雕刻芜菁或者土豆来做灯的。

How did the Jack -o -Lantern tradition begin? A common fable from the 19th century may answer this question. The fable tells the story of a man named Stingy Jack. He was cheap and liked to play tricks on everyone. When he died, he was cursed to walk in darkness forever. He carved a turnip and put a light inside to show him the way. People in Ireland called his ghost Jack of the Lantern and then Jack -o -Lantern.

南瓜灯的传统是怎么起源的呢？ 19世纪一个广为流传的寓言或许能给出答案。 这个寓言讲的是一个叫“小气鬼杰克”的人的故事。 他很小气，还喜欢捉弄所有人。 他去世后，被诅咒要永远在黑暗里游荡。 他刻了一个芜菁，还在里面放了一盏灯给他照亮路。 爱尔兰人把他的鬼魂叫做“灯笼杰克”，后来就慢慢演变成了“南瓜灯”的叫法。

Modern jack -o -lanterns. The stingy jack tradition later became part of a night called All Hallows' Eve. All over Europe, people lit huge fires and wore costumes to keep away ghosts. In Ireland, people carved scary faces on turnips and potatoes and placed lights inside.

现代南瓜灯 后来小气鬼杰克的传说成了“万圣夜”的一部分内容。 在整个欧洲，人们会点起大火，穿上奇装异服来驱赶鬼魂。 在爱尔兰，人们会在芜菁和土豆上刻上吓人的脸，再在里面放上灯。

Soon, others started to follow this tradition in Scotland and England. The English used beets for their jack -o -lanterns. All Hallows' Eve later became known as Halloween. People from these countries brought the jack -o -lantern tradition to the United States. They soon found that pumpkins worked well as jack -o -lanterns. By the 1920s, pumpkin carving became popular across America.

很快，苏格兰和英格兰的人们也开始遵循这个传统。 英国人用甜菜来做他们的南瓜灯。 后来“万圣夜”就慢慢变成了我们熟悉的“万圣节”。 这些国家的人把南瓜灯的传统带到了美国。 他们很快发现南瓜非常适合用来做南瓜灯。 到了20世纪20年代，雕刻南瓜已经风靡全美了。

Today, carving jack -o -lanterns is an important part of Halloween. Every autumn, people visit a pumpkin patch or a farm to pick the perfect pumpkin. About 1 .5 billion pounds, more than 680 million kilograms of pumpkins are grown in the United States each year.

如今，雕刻南瓜灯是万圣节的一项重要习俗。 每年秋天，大家都会去南瓜园或者农场挑选最合适的南瓜。 美国每年产出的南瓜约有15亿磅，也就是超过6.8亿公斤。