Only 30 percent of Shanghai residents enjoyed the Chinese New Year holiday, an online survey suggests.

Though 90 percent of the respondents said they still consider the festival China's most important traditional holiday, most of them said they were bored during their week off work.

The Shanghai SMMAIL Administration Center surveyed 7,948 people through online questionnaires on their feelings about this holiday season, New Year's gifts, greeting methods, holiday expenses, New Year's Eve dinner and major activities they took part in.

About 36 percent of respondents said the holiday lacked excitement, while another 14 percent said the week was tiresome. About 20 percent said last week didn't feel like it was a Chinese New Year holiday at all.

Local sociologists said the loss of many traditions has hurt the Spring Festival.

"Every year there are the same celebrations, and the same TV programs," said Zhang Zhongwei, one of the survey respondents. "People have nothing to do except eat. I'm getting so tired of it."

Hu Shoujun, a sociologist at Fudan University, said many people don't understand traditional Chinese culture, which is taken away from the holiday.

A movement titled "Revolutionizing the Chinese New Year" took place in China during the 1950s, which considered many holiday traditions as superstitions. Since then, the Chinese New Year celebrations became much more plain, and holiday period was also shortened.

Prior to that campaign, the holiday was celebrated until the 15th day of the new year - the Lantern Festival. In northern China, people would dance and sing and hold ceremonies to dispel evil or their enemies - traditions that have all but died off.

"The Chinese New Year is all about traditional culture, it used to have countless rituals and events. The holiday used to last for weeks," said Hu. "But after all these years, this country's new generation hardly know the origin of the Chinese New Year, let alone all the old fashioned rituals and celebrations."

Chen Shiqian, another survey taker, remembered the streets used to be packed with crowds during the festival, and the delicious traditional snacks were only available in the holiday season.

"But we can have these food almost everyday," said Chen.

(Shanghai Daily February 7, 2006)