海外文化:英美民俗 不祥之舉:一根火柴三支煙
【英文原文】
摘要:有些人認為一根火柴連點三支煙不吉利。
Many people believe that lighting cigarettes for three persons from one match will bring bad luck. This superstition may have come from among soldiers during World War I. At night, a match that stayed lit long enough to light three cigarettes provided a target for the enemy.
Some people believe that it is unlucky to walk under a ladder. Different reasons have been given for this superstition. One of them is that a ladder was used to take down Jesus from the cross. But this is not mentioned in the Bible. Maybe the most sensible reason is, when a person walks under a ladder, it may fall on him or her, or a hammer or a bucket of paint may fall on his or her head.
【中文譯文】
有些人認為一根火柴連點三支煙不吉利。據説這種迷信源於第一次世界大戰。在夜間,如果火柴燃燒的時間過長,就會暴露目標,使自己成為敵人的靶子。
有人認為從梯子下面走過不吉利。有這一迷信的起源有多種説法。其中一種説法是,在將耶穌的遺體從十字架上取下時,用過梯子。但《聖經》裏並沒有提到過這一點。也許最合理的解釋是當人從梯子下走過時,梯子會偶然倒下,或站在梯子上幹活的人會失手落下一把錘子或一桶油漆。