驚呆！英國(guó)千余人將魔法當(dāng)做自己的宗教信仰.

　　Ghostly goings on, children trick-or-treating and people celebrating one of the oldest festivals in the world are planned as Halloween fast approaches.

　　隨著萬(wàn)圣節(jié)快速臨近，孩子們“不給糖就搗蛋”、以及大人們對(duì)這一世界上最古老節(jié)日的慶祝活動(dòng)也像幽靈一樣幽幽地進(jìn)行著。

　　Statisticians at Britain’s Office for National Statistics have been looking through their records to discover what the festival will mean for many people.

　　而英國(guó)國(guó)家統(tǒng)計(jì)局的統(tǒng)計(jì)學(xué)家們則一直在通過(guò)查看他們的記錄來(lái)揭示萬(wàn)圣節(jié)對(duì)許多英國(guó)人來(lái)說(shuō)究竟意味著什么。

　　ONS said Friday records show that in the last census 1,276 people in Britain listed their religion as witchcraft, with 11,766 describing themselves as Wicca followers, and 502 members of occults.

　　上周五，英國(guó)國(guó)家統(tǒng)計(jì)局表示說(shuō)，記錄顯示在上一次人口普查中，英國(guó)有1276人將魔法列為他們的宗教信仰、11766人說(shuō)自己是現(xiàn)代巫術(shù)的信奉者、還有502人說(shuō)自己是邪教成員。

　　Halloween, celebrated on Oct. 31, means different things to different people. Members of the Gaelic community believed it is the time when the walls between world of the living and the next became thin and porous, allowing spirits to pass through, coming back to life on the day of Halloween and even causing damage to crops.

　　每年10月31日的萬(wàn)圣節(jié)對(duì)于不同的人來(lái)說(shuō)有不同的意義。蓋爾人認(rèn)為這一天人間界和亡靈界之間的界壁變薄、充滿(mǎn)很多孔洞，使得鬼神可以從中穿過(guò)，可以在萬(wàn)圣節(jié)當(dāng)天重返人間界、甚至給人界的莊稼造成破壞。

　　Gaels would even set places were set at the dinner table to appease and welcome the spirits. They would also offer food and drink, and light bonfires to ward off the evil spirits.

　　蓋爾人甚至還會(huì)在餐桌上給鬼神留一個(gè)位置，以此來(lái)安撫、歡迎它們。他們還會(huì)準(zhǔn)備美食佳釀、點(diǎn)燃篝火來(lái)抵御鬼神。

　　For generations many children in Britain have enjoyed, or been scared, by Halloween games.

　　長(zhǎng)久以來(lái)，英國(guó)小孩們都非常喜歡(或者非常害怕)萬(wàn)圣節(jié)的游戲。

　　ONS said more than 500 couples are expected to choose Halloween to marry.

　　據(jù)英國(guó)國(guó)家統(tǒng)計(jì)局表示說(shuō)，有超過(guò)500對(duì)新人希望選擇在萬(wàn)圣節(jié)這一天舉行婚禮。

　　And on the day there were over 9,500 Halloween weddings in England and Wales between 1995 and 2013, an average of 510 each year.

　　而在1995年到2013年期間，英格蘭和威爾士?jī)傻剡x擇在萬(wàn)圣節(jié)這一天舉行婚禮的夫妻達(dá)到了9500對(duì)，平均每年510對(duì)新人。

　　Theologians, philosophers and psychologists have expressed mixed feelings over whether Halloween should be celebrated.

　　在到底要不要慶祝萬(wàn)圣節(jié)這一問(wèn)題上，神學(xué)家、哲學(xué)家和心理學(xué)家們的看法都各有不同。