2014年10月24日金曜日 - 
Jason： Halloween
When I first arrived
in Japan 11 years ago, Halloween didn’t seem to be very popular; only a few
stores were decorated with ghosts and pumpkins. Now, however, I see references
to the holiday everywhere.
When I was young, I
loved Halloween. The idea of putting on a costume and getting candy for it was
a seven-year-old’s dream come true. Many kids would make their own costumes,
but I usually ended
up with a store-bought
one. My dad always carved a jack-o-lantern, and on Halloween he would put a
candle inside it at night to make the face glow. Many of the customs and
traditions of this holiday have been taken from other festivals, both Christian and Pagan.
The jack-o-lantern
has been one of the most popular symbols of Halloween, but the origins of the
tradition go back to an Irish folktale about a man named Jack. In the story,
the Devil is trapped by Jack, and in order to free himself makes a deal with Jack, saying he will not claim Jack’s soul when he dies. After a long life of sin, Jack dies, but is refused entry into Heaven. The
devil keeps his promise, refusing him a place in Hell, and he throws a burning ember at Jack to torment him. It was cold that night, so Jack placed the
ember in a hollow
turnip to keep him warm,
and to act as a lantern while he looks for a place to rest his spirit. (The
turnip was originally carved in Ireland and Scotland, but immigrants to America
used the native pumpkin instead, which was more available at the time.)
The custom of
children dressing in costumes can be traced back to a tradition known as “guising”. Children in Ireland Scotland North America was in 1911. These days, the tradition is not only
for children. Many adults have Halloween costume parties to celebrate the
holiday.
In Osaka, it was once
popular for people to ride the JR Osaka loop line dressed in costume during
Halloween, but recently the practice has been discouraged. Here at NOVA, the instructors are allowed,
within reason, to dress in costume while at work, and sometimes students dress
up as well.
ended up：結局～することになる
taken from：～から借用した
Pagan：異教徒
Trapped：罠にかかった
makes a
deal：取引をする
sin：罪
claim：(人命を)奪う
ember：燃えさし
torment：苦しめる
a hollow
turnip：穴の開いたカブ
traced
back：遡る
guising：仮装
disguise：変装させる