Friday and the Thirteenth
Friday and the Thirteenth has long been considered extremely unlucky because it has some bad associations which came from mythology， tale of the Bible， and the customs and habits. According to the Bible， the Lord God created the first man，Adam. Then he took a rib from Adam，s body and out of it created the first woman， Eve. It was said that Adam was created on a Friday and it was on Friday that Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit， and on a Friday they died.
Friday was also the common day in England for executing criminals， for which it was sometimes known as Hanging Day.
From the old Norse myth people got the idea that 13 people sitting at a table to have a dinner was unlucky. And this superstition was confirmed by the last supper of Christ and his disciples. Bible tells us that Christ sat down with his 12 disciples， which made up the number 13， at the last supper when Judas， one of the 12 disciples， sold his master for thirty pieces of silver. Christ was killed by nailing on the cross the following day on a Friday.
星期五和13
星期五和13历来被认为是非常不吉利的日子，这是从神话、圣经故事、风俗习惯产生的一些不好的联想而来的。据圣经上讲，上帝创造了第一个男人——亚当。然后，上帝从亚当身上取下一根肋骨又造了一个女人——夏娃。据说，亚当是在星期五被造出来的，他和夏娃吃禁果也在星期五，他俩死的日子也是星期五。
英国从前常常在星期五处死罪犯、因此星期五有时也叫“绞刑日”。
从挪威神话中，人们产生一种想法：13个人坐在一起聚餐是不吉利的。这种迷信被耶稣和其12个门徒的最后的晚餐加以证实。圣经上说，在最后的晚餐上，耶稣和他的12个门徒坐在一起，正好是13人。他的门徒之一——犹大，为了三十个银币而出卖了自己的老师。第二天，耶稣便被钉死在十字架上，这天碰巧是星期五。
The History of Mother，s Day
The earliest Mother，s Day celebrations are traced back to the spring celebrations of ancient Greece in honor of Rhea1， the Mother of the Gods.
During the 1600，s， England celebrated a day called “Mothering Sunday 2，” celebrated on the 4th Sunday of Lent 3. “Mothering Sunday” honored the mothers of England. During this time many of the England，s poor worked as servants for the wealthy. As most jobs were located far from their homes， the servants would live at the houses of their employers. On Mothering Sunday the servants would have the day off and were encouraged to return home and spend the day with their mothers. A special cake， called the mothering cake， was often brought along to provide a festive touch4.
As Christianity spread throughout Europe the celebration changed to honor the “Mother Church 5” the spiritual power that gave them life and protected them from harm. Over time the church festival blended with the Mothering Sunday celebration. People began honoring their mothers as well as the church.
In the United States Mother，s Day was first suggested in 1872 by Julia Ward Howe6 as a day dedicated to peace.
In 1907 Ana Jarvis， from Philadelphia， began a campaign to establish a national Mother，s Day. Ms. Jarvis persuaded her mother，s church in Grafton， West Virginia to celebrate Mother，s Day on the second anniversary of her mother，s death， the 2nd Sunday of May. By the next year Mother，s Day was also celebrated in Philadelphia.
Ms. Jarvis and her supporters began to write to ministers， businessmen， and politicians in their quest to establish a national Mother，s Day. It was successful， by 1911 Mother，s Day was celebrated in almost every state. President Woodrow Wilson1， in 1914， made the official announcement proclaiming Mother，s Day a national holiday that was to be held each year on the 2nd Sunday of May.
While many countries of the world celebrate their own Mother，s Day at different times throughout the year， there are some countries such as Denmark， Finland， Italy， Turkey， Australia， and Belgium which also celebrate Mother，s Day on the second Sunday of May.
母亲节的来历
最早的母亲节要追溯到古希腊为纪念众神之母瑞亚而举行的春季庆典。
在17世纪，英国庆祝一个叫“省亲日”的节日，庆典在四旬斋的第四个星期日举行。“省亲日”是英国人为表示对母亲的尊敬而设立的。当时，许多英国穷人都给富人当奴仆。由于多数工作地都离家很远，所以仆人们总是住在他们的雇主家里。在省亲日这天，仆人们常放假一天，可以回家和母亲团聚。为增加节日的气氛，他们常捎带一种特制的蛋糕，叫省亲蛋糕。
当基督教传遍欧洲的时候，庆祝活动演变成了颂扬“母教”——给予他们生命和保护他们免遭伤害的精神力量。渐渐地，宗教节日和省亲日的庆祝活动相互交融，人们开始既敬重母亲，又颂扬教会。
在美国，母亲节是1872年朱莉亚·沃德·豪作为和平日首次提出的。
1907年，来自费城的阿纳·贾维斯为确立一个全国性的母亲节开始了一项运动。贾维斯女士说服西弗吉尼亚州格拉夫顿她母亲的教会在她母亲逝世两周年纪念日——5月的第二个星期日，庆祝母亲节。到第二年，费城也开始庆祝母亲节。
贾维斯女士和她的支持者开始给牧师、商人、政治家写信，力求确立一个全国性的母亲节。这件事成功了。到1911年，几乎所有州都庆祝母亲节。1914年，伍德罗·威尔逊总统发表官方通告，宣布母亲节为一个全国性的节日，在每年5月的第二个星期日庆祝。
虽然世界上很多国家一年中在不同时间庆祝他们自己的母亲节，但诸如丹麦、芬兰、意大利、土耳其、澳大利亚和比利时等国家也是在5月的第二个星期日庆祝母亲节。
The Origin of April Fools， Day
The first of April is a special day， on which practical jokes may be played without punishment.The origin of the custom is uncertain， but it seems to have come about in France as a result of the change in 1582.
In sixteenthcentury France， the start of the new year was observed on April first. It was celebrated in much the same way as it is today with parties and dancing into the late hours of the night.Then in 1582， Pope Gregory introduced a new calendar for the Christian world， and the new year fell on January first. There were some people， however， who hadn，t heard or didn，t believe the change in the date， so they continued to celebrate New Year，s Day on April first. Others played tricks on them and called them “April Fools”.
In France today， children fool their friends by taping a paper fish to their friends， backs. When the “young fool” discovers this trick， the prankster yells “April Fish！” Today American play small tricks on friends and strangers alike on the same day.
愚人节的来历
四月一日是个特殊的日子。那天，人们可以恶作剧，却不被惩罚。此传统的来历不详，不过似乎起源于法国1582年的一次变故。
十六世纪，法国的新年是从四月一日开始的，其庆祝方式和今天差不多，也是聚会，跳舞跳到深夜。1582年，教皇格利高利颁布了基督教徒的新历法，把新年规定在一月一日。但是，总有一些人没听说或者不相信日子的变动，所以他们就继续在四月一日庆祝新年。那些知道的人们就捉弄他们，叫他们“四月愚人”。
如今，法国的小孩仍旧往他们的小朋友背上贴纸鱼，以此愚弄他们。一旦被愚弄的小孩发现了这把戏，调皮的孩子们就会起哄，叫唤“愚人鱼！”。现在，美国人也在四月一日这一天和朋友或是陌生人开些类似的玩笑。
Know More About Halloween
Halloween was called Samhain by the Irish. It came to be known as Halloween sometime around the fifth century A.D..
Samhain took place on October 31 through to November 1. During this period， it was believed that the boundaries between our world and the world of the dead were weakened， allowing spirits of the recently dead to cross over and possess the living.
To celibrate the festival， the Irish would dress up in bizarre costumes and parade through their villages， causing destruction and saying “TrickorTreat”， in order to scare off any recently departed souls who might be prowling for bodies to inhabit.