Spring Festival holiday is just not long enough

Performers wearing masks send new yer greetings to people in Rongshui county, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, Jan 30, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

Feeling sleepy at work just a few days after the weeklong Spring Festival holiday? If yes, take consolation in knowing that you are not the only one that feels this way. You are just one of the millions of employees who say that the Spring Festival holiday wears them out and they need more time to recuperate.

A survey by xinhuanet.com found that 95.49 percent of those interviewed felt the one week of holiday for the Spring Festival is not enough and they would like more days off so they can relax.

The results of the survey should not be surprising. Both the Spring Festival and the National Day holidays last one week, but they are different for a majority of employees, who work far away from their hometowns.

The National Day holiday is a modern holiday and there are commonly two ways of enjoying it: Travelling or resting at home. Both provide the opportunity to relax.

However, Spring Festival is a traditional holiday characterized by family reunions and socializing. People return to their hometowns, visit relatives, and attend social gatherings that usually involve drinking with hospitable hosts.

A schedule widely spread online shows how busy an average person who works far away from hometown can be during the Spring Festival holiday:

On the eve of the Lunar New Year, catch a train back home.

Celebrate the first day of Lunar New Year with the family;

On the remaining days, people shuttle back and forth between relatives and friends before traveling back to the cities where they work.

As can be seen from the schedule, most people will only have one day to rest, the remaining time is taken up with socializing and traveling.

Many migrant workers leave their children behind in their rural hometowns while they live and work in one of the big cities. Spring Festival is one of the few chances they have to be with their children, yet the week is too short and the parents are too busy. If authorities can add another few days to the holiday, it will surely be appreciated by these "left-behind" children and their parents.

In the survey done by xinhuanet.com, 69.84 percent of the respondents wanted the Spring Festival holiday to be extended to 15 days in length.

The issue has already been discussed by legislators.

In 2015, Liu Zhengjun, a legislator of the National People's Congress, the nation's top legislature, advised prolonging the Spring Festival holiday to 15 days. "Everyone is in a hurry－to buy tickets, catch trains, visit relatives. We need to change that."

Last year, NPC deputy Luo He'an advised increasing the Spring Festival holiday by two more days. Zhang Hongchuan, another deputy, advised four.

This year's Spring Festival holiday has already ended but there is always next year. It is time to respond to people's calls for a longer Spring Festival holiday, so that people can get a rest and "left-behind" children can enjoy more time with their parents.

The author is a writer with China Daily.

zhangzhouxiang@chinadaily.com.cn