杨晨

墨西哥人相信，每年的10月31日到11月2日是“亡灵节”。在这三天，天堂的大门会打开，已故之人的灵魂将从天堂来到人间看望亲人。亲人团聚是喜事，因此亡灵节是个欢乐的节日。

In the Mexican culture， there is a holiday known as the Day of the Dead （Día de los Muertos）. The door of heaven opens every year between October 31st and November 2nd. Spirits of the dead people enters our world through that door to visit their loved ones who still lives on Earth. Being reunited with the loved ones should be joyful， thus the Day of the Dead is an ecstatic celebration to Mexicans.

而我居住的美国，受拉丁美洲裔移民的影响，也庆祝这个节日。十月中旬，学校已早早地布置好了亡灵节的装饰。走廊里挂满了同学们制作的彩色剪纸、骷髅画、亡灵节纸花；展示架上摆满了泥塑骷髅头、糖霜骷髅等墨西哥传统装饰。

The Mexican and other Latino immigrants make up a great percentage of American population. They bring their culture to America， too （where I live）. This causes many states in America to celebrate the Day of the Dead. In mid-October， my school had already begun decorating for the holiday. Papel picado （cut paper）， skull drawings， cempazúchitl paper flowers are hanged in school hallways. You can also admire students art works， clay skulls， calaveras （sugar skulls）， and other traditional Mexican decorations.

西班牙語课上，老师指导我们用西班牙语介绍自己的手工作品，还请我们品尝了她亲手烘焙的亡灵节面包。我们还了解到亡灵节的其他传统。在墨西哥，人们会在家中摆设祭坛，来放置逝者的遗像和生前喜爱的物件、食品、糖果和饮料。有些人家还用颜色亮丽的鲜花和蜡烛摆成小路，来为亡灵指引方向。

In Spanish class， Maestra （Teacher） taught us how to describe our own artworks in Spanish. We even got to try the Pan de Muerto （bread of the dead）， which she baked herself.We also learned about other traditions. In Mexico， people set up ofrendas （altars） to honor their loved ones who have passed away. They place pictures of the dead， as well as food， drinks， candies， and other objects on the altars. Some families even set up roads with bright flowers and candles to guide the spirits to their homes.

现在，你对鬼的印象有没有发生改变呢？纵然“亡灵”听起来恐怖，可仔细一想，若这亡灵是亲爱的人来与你相聚，又何尝不是欢乐的事呢？

After reading this article， have you changed your views about spirits and ghosts？ "Ghosts" might sound scary， but if that ghost is your loved one who passed away， who is coming to reunite with you， wouldnt you be delighted？