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In a recent study of six- and seven-year-olds in the Philadelphia area,
Penn State psychologist Cindy Dell Clark found that most parents
underestimate just how terrifying Halloween can be for young kids.
Halloween has been scaring the heck out of kids of all ages for
centuries.
Two thousand years ago, Celts living in what is now the United Kingdom
celebrated their new year at the end of October. During these days of
transition from the end of summer harvest to the beginning of winter,
spirits were thought to roam among the living.
The modern customs of candy and costume are rooted
in medieval England. To avoid being recognized by the visiting spirits,
people would dress up in masks whenever they left home. Bowls of food were
placed outside to keep the ghosts happy. The practices have morph
ed into Halloween as it is
known today, with parents encouraging their own little ghosts and goblins
to haunt the neighborhood.
There have been few studies to examine how the holiday affects
children. Child psychologists generally caution parents that the fright of
some aspects of Halloween can be too much for the very young, and advise
adults to keep a close eye on children and remind them of what is real and
what is not.
According to Clark, who interviewed parents and children after three
Halloweens, younger children may be unwilling participants in the whole
ritual.
The key ingredient in the recipe of Halloween fright is, of course,
death.
"Intriguingly, Halloween is a holiday when adults assist children in
behaviors taboo and out of bounds," Clark said, "It is striking that on
Halloween, death-related themes are intended as entertainment for the very
children whom adults routinely protect."
For most kids, at an age when they're often not included in family
funerals or witness to grave illnesses, Oct. 31 is often their first
introduction to the subjects.
Halloween also provides an opportunity for adults to confront usually
uncomfortable topics like death. Kids as young as six and seven, however,
don't differentiate between real death and the store-bought skeleton
figures hanging in the trees and fake tombstones on the grass.
(Agencies) |
在最近一次對美國費城地區六七歲年齡組孩子進行的調查中，賓夕法尼亞州心理學家辛迪·戴爾·克拉克發現大多數父母都低估了萬圣節可能會對孩子們帶來的恐懼。
幾個世紀以來，萬圣節嚇壞了許多各年齡層的孩子們。
兩千多年前，現在英國的國土上的生活著很多凱爾特人，他們會在每年的10月底慶祝新的一年的到來。這時，夏天的收割已經結束，而寒冷的冬天還沒有到來，人們認為幽靈會在這段時間在人群中出沒。
現在盛行的要糖吃和穿奇裝異服的傳統起源于中世紀的英國，為了避免被降臨的幽靈認出，人們出門時都會戴上面具偽裝自己。家門口還會放上幾碗米飯取悅前來光顧的幽靈。這種習慣漸漸演變為今天大家所熟知的萬圣節，現在父母們會鼓勵自家小鬼們去鄰居家裝神弄鬼。
很少有人研究萬圣節到底對孩子會產生怎樣的影響。通常，兒童心理學家們會提醒家長萬圣節的某些驚悚情景不適合小孩子，他們建議成年人要照看好孩子，提醒他們什么是真的，什么不是。
克拉克曾經三次在萬圣節后采訪家長和孩子，年紀較小的孩子們可能不愿意參加這樣的活動。
萬圣節恐怖秘訣的主要因素顯然是死亡。
"有意思的是，萬圣節的時候大人們會幫助小孩子去做一些平時禁止做的事情。令人驚訝的是，在萬圣節，和死亡有關的內容話題成為孩子們的娛樂的內容，而平時大人們都盡量保護孩子們免受這些話題不受傷害。"
對于大多數孩子來說，在這個年紀他們通常還沒有參加過家庭的葬禮或親眼看到過嚴重的疾病，他們往往是通過每年10月31日這個節日開始接觸這些事情。
萬圣節同時也為大人們提供機會，去面對那些讓人不舒服的話題，例如死亡。但是，六七歲的孩子往往無法分辨真實的死亡和那些從商店買來的掛在街上的骷髏以及草地上的假墓碑有什么不同。
(中國日報網站薛曉文編譯) |
Updated: 2005-10-31 08:59
