The Intronduction of Christianity

Halloween [ hæl i:n].

Halloween [ hæl i:n] is a yearly celebration on October 31, the eve of the feast（盛会） of 。In this holiday ,there are some traditional activities and food.

Trick-or-treating is a customary celebration for children on Halloween [ hæl i:n]. Children go in costume from house to house, asking for treats such as or sometimes money, with the question, "Trick or treat?" The word "trick" refers to a "threat" to perform mischief（恶作剧） on the homeowners or their property if no treat is given.

Halloween [ hæl i:n]costume [ k stju:m]parties generally fall on or around October 31, often on the Friday or Saturday before Halloween. Halloween costumes are traditionally modeled after supernatural figures such as monsters, ghosts

[ɡ usts], witches, and devils. Over time, the costume selection extended to include popular characters from fiction, celebrities and so on.

Because Halloween comes in the wake of the yearly apple harvest, [ kær mel] are common .Halloween treats made by rolling whole apples in a sticky sugar syrup [ sir p]（糖浆）, sometimes followed by rolling them in nuts（坚果）. One custom that persists in modern-day is the baking（烘烤）of a [ bɑ:mbræk]（果子面包）, which is a light fruitcake, into which a plain ring, a coin and other charms(小装饰品)are placed

before baking. It is said that those who get a ring will find their true love in the ensuing [en sju: ] （接着发生的）year. 发展和分化Christianity began as a Jewish [ d u: ] sect in the mid-1st century.Then it quickly grew in size and influence over a few decades, and by the 4th century had become the dominant religion within the [r m ]. During the , most of the remainder of Europe was Christianized, with Christians also being a sometimes large religious minority in the , ,parts of and so on. Following the ,Christianity spread to the , [ str lei j ], and the rest of the world. Christianity, therefore, is a major influence in the .

At present there are three largest groups in the world of Christianity ——the , the [ :θ d ks], and the various churches of [ pr t st n t z m]. The Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox [ :θ d ks] split from one another in the [ s z m(分支) of 1054 AD, and Protestantism[ pr t st n t z m] came into existence during the of the 16th century, splitting from the Roman Catholic Church.

Symbols

The , which is today one of the most widely recognised symbols in the world, was used as a Christian symbol from the earliest times. Although the cross was known to the early Christians, the [ kru:s f ks]（耶稣钉在十字架上的苦像） did not appear in use until the 5th century.

Christians from the very beginning adorned their [tu:mz] with paintings of Christ, of the saints [seint], of scenes from the Bible and so on. The catacombs

[ kæt k um]（地下墓穴） are the cradle（摇篮） of all Christian art. The first Christians had no prejudice against images, pictures, or statues.

Among the symbols employed by the primitive Christians, that of the fish seems to have ranked first in importance. The fish was depicted as a Christian symbol in the first decades of the 2nd century. Its popularity among Christians was due to the famous consisting of the initial letters of five Greek [gri:k] words forming the word for fish (Ichthys), which words briefly but clearly described the character of Christ

and the claim to worship of believers(: Iesous Christos Theou Yios Soter, meaning, Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour.)

Other major Christian symbols include the [ m n uɡræm]（字母组合）, the [d v]（鸽） , the sacrificial lamb [læm]（神的）, and many others.