驚呆！英國千余人將魔法當做自己的宗教信仰.

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

　　隨著萬圣節(jié)快速臨近，孩子們“不給糖就搗蛋”、以及大人們對這一世界上最古老節(jié)日的慶?；顒右蚕裼撵`一樣幽幽地進行著。

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

　　而英國國家統(tǒng)計局的統(tǒng)計學家們則一直在通過查看他們的記錄來揭示萬圣節(jié)對許多英國人來說究竟意味著什么。

　　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，英國國家統(tǒng)計局表示說，記錄顯示在上一次人口普查中，英國有1276人將魔法列為他們的宗教信仰、11766人說自己是現代巫術的信奉者、還有502人說自己是邪教成員。

　　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日的萬圣節(jié)對于不同的人來說有不同的意義。蓋爾人認為這一天人間界和亡靈界之間的界壁變薄、充滿很多孔洞，使得鬼神可以從中穿過，可以在萬圣節(jié)當天重返人間界、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.

　　蓋爾人甚至還會在餐桌上給鬼神留一個位置，以此來安撫、歡迎它們。他們還會準備美食佳釀、點燃篝火來抵御鬼神。

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

　　長久以來，英國小孩們都非常喜歡(或者非常害怕)萬圣節(jié)的游戲。

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

　　據英國國家統(tǒng)計局表示說，有超過500對新人希望選擇在萬圣節(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，英格蘭和威爾士兩地選擇在萬圣節(jié)這一天舉行婚禮的夫妻達到了9500對，平均每年510對新人。

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

　　在到底要不要慶祝萬圣節(jié)這一問題上，神學家、哲學家和心理學家們的看法都各有不同。