Is Spring Festival losing its luster?
The old Chinese saying "as happy as spending the New Year" might be outdated
now in the busy modern world.
A survey of people's attitude toward Spring Festival, the lunar new year, found that many people
think the traditional festival is losing its glamor and isn't bringing the
happiness to their lives that it used to.
Conducted by sohu.com and New Cultural News, the online survey, collecting
more than 2,200 ballots, found that about 60 percent called the Spring Festival
holiday totally boring, and 70 percent said they probably would not pay a New
Year call to their neighbors.
Spring Festival is regarded as the most important festival for Chinese people
and an occasion for all family members to get together, like Christmas in the
West.
This year it falls on February 18.
But many traditional customs accompanying Spring Festival, however, have
weakened in practice.
"Setting off fireworks was once the most typical custom of Spring Festival.
People thought the sputtering sound could help drive away evil spirits. However,
the activity has been completely or partially forbidden in big cities for years
as the government has taken security, noise and pollution factors into
consideration.
"In recent years, some cities have begun to allow people to light fireworks
during limited hours at Spring Festival, surrendering to public demand.
Respecting folk traditions is a gesture of respect toward public opinion."
Zhou Xing, a folklore researcher
"As people gain more income and it becomes easier to buy daily goods, the new
year holiday is just like any other day. After long workdays, many people use
the New Year holidays to take a rest, rather than visiting friends and
neighbours.
"The process of making and enjoying the family dinner on Spring Festival Eve
is the most important thing. However, many families would like to eat out to
save time and energy."
Li Shunzhi, a resident of Harbin, Heilongjiang
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