"Should we make our Lunar New Year celebrations like the carnival in Western countries?" asked Han Xiaohua, who came back from Japan to reunite with her family during the new year holiday.

At least one psychologist agreed.

"There must be reasonable and legal ways for people to vent their emotions," said psychologist Wang Junying. "It's good for their health."

Some sociologists said an increasing awareness of individual privacy and the absence of blood relations with neighbors have made Spring Festival cheerless for people in big cities like Beijing.

"I don't like the modern Lunar New Year holiday now," 38-year-old Beijing resident Li Rui said. "All the TV channels are airing similar programs, and the Internet speed is as slow as a snail."

"There is nowhere we can run wild and play," she complained.

"The Lunar New Year is nothing but another week-long holiday," echoed her colleague Wang Yafei.

"We ran and danced around with lanterns and firecrackers in ourhands during the Lunar New Year when we were kids," Wang recalled. "We really had a lot of fun."

The carnival-like celebrations nationwide after Beijing's successful bid for the Olympics and the national football team's qualifying for the World Cup in 2001 still remain deep in many Chinese minds.

"As society and people's lifestyles are changing, more and more Chinese will celebrate their New Year holiday like the Brazilian carnival," predicted a scholar who has studied Chinese folk-custom for years.

(Xinhua News Agency February 10, 2003)