NewFury as government drops Spring Festival Eve from China's public holiday plan
People complain the change means they won't have time to get home for festival meal, but backers say most workers will get the day off anyway
The central government's decision not to grant a public holiday on Lunar New Year's Eve has sparked an angry reaction among internet users on the mainland.
A poll conducted on internet portal Sina showed nearly 90 per cent of the 50,000 people who had taken part as of yesterday morning were against the removal of the date from annual national holidays.
By tradition, family members sit down together for dinner and light firecrackers on Lunar New Year's Eve to greet the arrival of the new year. It falls on January 30 next year and the tradition is as important in Chinese culture as Christmas Eve in the West.
Many people were upset the government appeared to be refusing to honour a custom that has lasted thousands of years.
"If there is no holiday on Lunar New Year's Eve, how can I return home to be reunited with my parents? This is a serious violation against filial piety," wrote one person from Tianjin in the comment section of the Sina poll. "Our officials hold foreign passports and have Easter and Christmas. Who cares about a Chinese festival?" wrote a user from Wuxi in Jiangsu .