Halloween is an autumn holiday that Americans celebrate every year. It means "holy evening," and it comes every October 31, the evening before All Saints' Day.
However, it is not really a church holiday, it is a holiday for children mainly.
Every autumn, when the vegetables are ready to eat, children pick large orange pumpkins. Then they cut faces in the pumpkins and put a burning candle inside. It looks as if there were a person looking out of the pumpkin! These lights are called jack-o'-lanterns, which means "Jack of the lantern".
The children also put on strange masks and frightening costumes every Halloween. Some children paint their faces to look like monsters. Then they carry boxes or bags from house to house. Every time they come to a new house, they say,"Trick or treat! Money or eat!" The grown-ups put treat-money or candy in their bags.
Not only children, but most grown-ups also love Halloween and Halloween parties because on this day,they can disguise themselves as personages or ghost as their imaginations will lead them. This bring them the satisfaction of being young.
萬聖節是美國人年年都會慶祝的秋季節日。它的意思是“神聖的夜晚”，在每年的10月31日，也就是萬聖節前夜。但實際上這不是一個真正的宗教節日，而主要是孩子們的節日。
每年秋天蔬菜成熟可以食用的時候，孩子們就會挑出大個兒的橙色南瓜。然後在南瓜上刻上一張臉，把一根點燃的蠟燭放在裡面。看起來就好像有人在向南瓜外面張望。這些燈就叫做“iack-o'-lantems”，意思也就是“傑克的燈”。
每年萬聖節前夕孩子們還戴上奇怪的面具，穿上嚇人的服裝。有些孩子把臉刷成怪物。然後他們拿著盒子或袋子挨家挨戶串門。每來到一個新房子他們就說：“不款待就搗亂!給錢還是吃的!”大人們就會把用來招待的錢或糖放在他們的袋子裡了。
不僅孩子，許多成年人也喜歡萬聖節前夕和萬聖節前夕晚會。因為這一天他們可以根據自己的想像把自己裝扮成名流或幽靈。這會帶給他們年輕的快感。