About 70 percent of the respondents to a recent survey said they would like to celebrate Spring Festival in their hometowns but 57 percent of them feared their meager incomes would not cover their expenses. This means many people may be forced to spend the Spring Festival holiday away from home, says an article in Changsha Evening News. Excerpts:

Celebrating Spring Festival with one's family at home used to be a social affair. But in today's consumer society, financial matters-the rising costs of travel and gifts-decide whether a person will travel back home for family reunion during the Chinese New Year.

For many people, Spring Festival has become an occasion to show off their money. What used to be a solemn occasion for a family get-together has become an event to prove one's financial worth to relatives and friends.

Money has become one of the most important means of expressing one's emotions. With people judging the quality of life by wealth, vanity consumption will obviously increase during Spring Festival.

But when people's desire to visit home during Spring Festival for a family reunion is mixed with self-promotion, consumption is bound to go astray. So it's time people stopped aping others in trying to prove their financial worth and enjoyed Spring Festival for what it is, an occasion for joyous family reunion.