由于祭拜祖先、欢享团圆饭的农历除夕没被列入放假安排表，新浪微博上吐槽不断。

 

Imagine finalising plans for a long-awaited new year family reunion – calling the parents, booking flights – when suddenly, the government posts a simple document online that renders it all in vain.

试想一下：翘首期盼的新年团聚，原本计划订好航班看望父母来着，突然政府在网上贴出一则公告，让一切变成了空欢喜，会是什么滋味？

 

That's what has happened to many Chinese people, after the general office of the state council released its 2014 official holiday schedule. Many were shocked that it did not grant vacation time on Lunar New Year's Eve – an evening of ancestor worship and family reunion dinners, one of the most important nights of the traditional Chinese calendar. It has been an official holiday since 2007.

而这正是广大中国人面临的现实。国务院办公厅公布2014年官方假期安排后，很多人大为震惊——农历除夕竟然不放假！除夕是祭拜祖先和享用团圆饭的日子，是中国一个极为重要的农历节日，2007年以来一直都是法定假日。

 

"It's like a Thanksgiving dinner," said Apple Dai, a 29-year-old employee at the Beijing office of a European conglomerate. "You're supposed to spend the day with your family – it's a cultural thing. And now because of China's development, it feels like we're losing our culture."

“它就像感恩节晚餐，是应该和家人团聚的日子，是一种文化传统，可现在随着中国的发展，我们好像也在丧失我们的文化。”在欧企北京分部工作的29岁戴小姐说。

 

Next year's calendar will give workers 11 days off, including week-long vacations during the lunar new year – also known as the spring festival – and the anniversary of the October 1949 founding of the People's Republic of China. The official spring festival holiday will run from Friday 31 January until Thursday 6 February. Employees will be required to work on the weekends before and after to make up for lost time.

明年实际放假只有11天，其中包括七天长假——农历新年的春节和庆祝中华人民共和国1949年成立的国庆。春节法定假期是从1月31日（周五）到2月6日（周四），而且，上班族还得在周末加班来为放假调休。

 

State media outlets said the new schedule "reflects public opinion". Shi Peihua, a professor at Beijing Jiaotong University, told the state news agency Xinhua that the arrangement eliminates "very long consecutive work days in weeks before or after holidays". Dong Keyong, a professor at Beijing's Renmin University, said it avoids "the interruption of people's regular work and life".

政府媒体声称，新的放假安排“反映了民众意见”。北京交通大学教授石培华对新华社说，这次放假安排避免了“节假日前后出现超长工作周”。北京人民大学教授董克用认为，它避免“打乱人们正常工作和生活的节奏”。

 

Yet more than 80% of nearly 180,000 respondents to a poll on Sina Weibo, the country's most popular microblog, said they were unsatisfied with the new arrangement. Many users proposed visiting government offices on Lunar New Year's Eve, to ascertain whether officials are working as hard as everyone else.

然而，根据中国最有人气的新浪微博上的调查显示，将近18万参与者中，超过80%的人表示对新的假期安排不满意。很多网民提议除夕那天上访政府部门，看看政府人员到时候会不会跟大家一样辛苦工作。

 

"The spring festival holiday without Lunar New Year's Eve is like making love without foreplay," said one well-forwarded post. "Mum, if I can't make it home on time for new year's eve, please don't take me to court," said another user, referring to legislation passed this year that allows parents to sue their children for lack of filial piety.

“春节放假没除夕，就如做爱没前戏。”某个热帖写道。“妈，如果我除夕没能赶回去，请不要将我告上法庭。”另一位网友说，同时也暗讽了一把今年通过的法律——父母有权起诉子女不孝。

 

Because China's 1.3 billion people must abide by the same holiday schedule, the crush of hundreds of millions of travellers returning home to their families sends the country into overdrive. Flight costs rise; lines at train ticket offices take up entire city blocks. During the 2013 spring festival, Chinese people logged 3.42bn trips on public transport, according to Xinhua.

因为13亿中国人必须遵守同样的放假规定，成千上万人的返乡潮会造成严重的交通堵塞，机票价格上涨，火车票窗口的队伍能排到几个街区长。据新华社报道，2013年春节中国公共交通搭乘人次高达34.2亿。

 

Dai said she plans to take leave on Lunar New Year's Eve anyway – she wants to get back to her home province, Anhui, in time for dinner. She doubts her company will be inhumane enough to keep her working. "You just tell your boss you want to go home early or something like that," she said. "And sometimes they'll just let you go."

戴小姐说，不管怎样她准备除夕请假，她想及时赶到安徽老家吃年夜饭。她觉得公司不会这么不近人情地坚持让她上班。“你只要告诉老板想早点回家，有时候他们会同意的。”她说。