一周熱詞榜（1.14-20）

5. 恐年族
people suffering from Spring Festival phobia

請看例句：

Many young people suffer from Spring Festival phobia because of the extravagance and waste and pressure that have come to characterize the festival.
鋪張浪費和壓力已經成了春節的特征，不少年輕人因此淪為"恐年族"。

春節(the Spring Festival/Chinese Lunar New Year)原本是家人團聚(family reunion/get-together)、美滿和睦的節日，高漲的人情消費(the expenses associated with maintaining interpersonal relationships)、攀比之風(the craze to vie with each other/keeping up with the Joneses)卻讓不少人淪為"恐年族(people suffering from Spring Festival phobia, people who have a phobia about the Spring Festival)"。《中國青年報》的一項調查顯示，參與調查的網友中77.2%的人表示身邊存在恐年族，41.1%的人認為自己就是恐年族。網友票選出的過年最糾結的事包括過年花銷、家人逼婚(be pressured by their family to get married)、無顏歸家等等。

一些年輕人最發愁的是春節期間的"高消費"。中國有個傳統就是過年時長輩會給小孩子紅包(it is a Chinese tradition for children to receive money as a New Year gift from elders)。隨著人們生活條件的提高(the improvement in people's living conditions)，許多人給親友的孩子發紅包就要發出好幾千元。再加上送給父母的禮物以及親友聚餐的花費，春節期間花費過萬的情況并不少見，對許多人來說，這成了沉重的經濟負擔(heavy economic burden)。

不僅"錢包受傷"，"脾胃受累"也是不少年輕人的擔憂。每年春節都要參加老同學的聚會(attend gatherings/parties with former schoolmates)，還有各個親戚、朋友(relatives and friends)輪番請客。春節的生活幾乎就是從一個飯局到另一個飯局，而喝酒幾乎是少不了的，身體實在是吃不消，感覺過個年比上班還累(feel more worn out during the holiday than at work)。

無形的心理壓力(mental stress/psychological pressure)也讓不少年輕人想要"逃避春節"。沒男女朋友的被父母和親戚"催交往"、沒有結婚的被"催婚(be urged to get married soon)"、已婚未孕又被"催懷孕"，二孩開放后已婚已生的還有可能被"催生二胎(have a second child)"，這種關心對一些人來說卻是一種莫大的壓力。此外，因為春節是大家庭(extended families)團聚的機會，春節聚會成了炫耀大會(an arena for showing off)。家長互相攀比孩子的學習成績，親友之間則比地位、比財富(parents compare their children's academic performance, while relatives and friends compare status and possessions)。

[相關詞匯]

節日恐懼癥 holiday phobia

春聯 spring couplets

年畫 new year paintings

節日送禮 holiday gift giving

年貨經濟 Spring Festival shopping-generated economy

假日購物季 holiday shopping season