Should Spring Festival Holiday Be Rescheduled?(ZT)
Scheduling of China's Spring Festival holiday has met with criticism from the public, who insist that the national holiday should be rescheduled to include New Year's Eve.
As in previous years, this year's week-long Spring Festival or Chinese New Year holiday starts from the first day of the Chinese New Year, January 1, and ends on January 7 on the Chinese lunar calendar.
Hong Kong-based Takungpao newspaper reported public complaints about the schedule, as people say they will be unable to spend New Year's Eve with their families and share a big family dinner to welcome the New Year.
This complaint has found support with Professor Xiang Yong of Peking University, who argues that initial scheduling of the week-long holiday didn't take public needs into account.
The newspaper quoted Professor Xiang, the vice-dean of the Cultural Industries Institute of Peking University, as saying that functional departments and officials have a shallow understanding of Chinese folk culture. He says the protection of traditional culture was neglected when the holiday was being scheduled, because New Year's Eve is actually the most important day of all in New Year's celebrations, as that is when all the ceremonies, like pasting couplets on one's door, hanging up red lanterns and having a family dinner, take place. He says these ceremonies are an integral part of Chinese culture, and thus the day is highly valued and infused with expectations for Chinese people.
Professor Xiang said the government should reschedule the holiday according to reality, noting that no one can focus on work on New Year's Eve anyway.
Analysts believe these factors explain why the country's auto sales have been growing rapidly despite rising oil prices and crippling traffic congestion in major cities.
Eighty percent of the sedan cars sold last year were purchased by individuals, meaning another three million Chinese became car owners in 2006.
"Car sales will grow 15 percent to hit eight million units in 2007," said Jiang Lei, vice chairman of CAAM, adding that domestic automakers will try to explore the markets by giving priority to product and service quality rather than becoming embroiled in price wars.
