春节“恐归族”：回家过年你怕了吗？

As Chinese lunar new year approaches, going back home to stay with family members becomes the recurring and eternal theme of the festival.

随着春节脚步的临近，返乡和家人团聚也成了这个节日恒久不变的主题。

For many young people, it is not only an occasion for a warm reunion, but a stressful and expensive time.

对于很多年轻人来说，春节不单单只是一个和家人温情相聚的场合，同时也一位着重重压力和不菲的花销。

“I’m reluctant to return to my hometown in Shandong, and now the trouble is how to tell my parents,” said Luo Jingjing, 28, an employee who has lived in Shenzhen for five years.

28岁的罗晶晶（音译）在深圳工作已有五年时间了，她说：“我不想回山东老家过年，但郁闷的是不知道怎么和父母讲。”

Luo, who is under pressure at work, said that she wanted to relax and chill out during her holidays.

罗晶晶平时的工作压力很大，她表示自己想要一个放松、清净的假期。

“I would face even more stress at home”, she said. “My parents and relatives keep pushing me to get married before I’m 30. We’ve already had many quarrels over boyfriends.”

她说：“我回家会面对更大的压力。父母和亲戚都会不停地催我30岁前结婚。在男朋友这个问题上我们已经争吵过很多次了。”

It’s unrealistic for Luo who is single to take a fake boyfriend home like in the movies or in TV dramas. Her marriage status will be an inevitable topic of conversation at home.

想要罗晶晶像影视剧中那样带个冒牌男友回家，这似乎不太现实。她的个人问题已成为回家无法逃避的话题之一。

Luo is not the only one to feel under pressure if they go home during the Spring Festival. Nearly 70 percent of people living in six major cities including Beijing and Shanghai have “woes about going home during the Spring Festival”, according to a recent survey by the China Association of Social Workers.

在众多春节返乡大军中，并不单单只有罗晶晶一人感到如此压力重重。中国社会工作协会进行的一项最新调查显示，在京沪等六大主要城市中，有近七成的人“因春节返乡而愁眉不展”。

The causes include travel fatigue, financial pressures and emotional stress, according to the survey.

该调查同时还找出了该现象背后的种种原因，包括旅途疲劳、经济以及情绪上的压力。

For some new graduates, the return home presents some financial and emotional problems.

对于一些应届毕业生来说，春节返乡意味着金钱和情感上的双重难题。

Those in their 20s are not yet financially secure, so gifts and envelopes stuffed with cash are beyond their means.

这群20岁左右的年轻人经济状况尚不稳定，所以负担不起置办礼物和压岁钱的开支。

Chen Jiayi, who works in Shanghai and earns a 3,000 yuan a month, could not afford to go to home to Xinjiang for the Chinese lunar new year.

在上海工作，月薪3000元的陈佳怡（音译）表示自己无法负担春节回新疆老家过年的费用。

“Travel tickets plus buying gifts for my relatives would cost me two months’ pay,” she said.

她说：“车票再加上给亲戚买礼物的钱，这就花去了我两个月的工资。”

However, for many, the contrast between reality and expectations becomes another factor to remain in the big cities.

而对于很多仍在大城市打拼的人来说，现实与期望之间的对比也成为他们不愿返乡的原因之一。

Sun Lingling, 25, who landed a job in Shanghai two years ago, found homecoming a dreadful emotional experience.

25岁的孙玲玲（音译）两年前在上海找到一份工作，她现在发现回家开始成为一种烦人的心理折磨。

“I was exhausted traveling from Shanghai to Shaanxi. Friends who hadn’t been in touch for a long time wanted to know about my life.

孙玲玲说：“从上海奔波回到陕西老家已经令我筋疲力尽。好久没联系的朋友都想知道我在上海的生活状况。”

“They asked if I had a car or an apartment,” said Sun who had mixed feelings about their curiosity.

“他们会问你是否买房买车。”对于他们的好奇心，孙玲玲的心里实在是五味陈杂。

Huang Xi, who graduated from Peking University, has the same problem. He has worked as a civil servant in Xiamen for two years.

毕业于北京大学的黄熙（音译）也面临着同样的问题。他是一名公务员，已经在厦门工作了两年时间。

He wavered about returning home to a small town in Jiangxi. “In the past, everyone asked about whether I was going to be promoted,” said Huang.

对于是否回江西小镇的老家过年，他显得犹豫不决。黄熙说：“过去，每个人都会问我是不是要升官了。”

He thought that his return home only increased his elderly relatives’ anxieties. “Watching their disappointed expressions, I would feel at a loss.”

他觉得自己回家只会徒增自家亲戚长辈们的烦恼。“看到他们失望的表情，我会觉得自己很失败。”

He Ming, a professor of sociology at Shenzhen University suggested young people should return home with an open mind.

深圳大学社会学教授何明（音译）建议年轻人们可以对于回家过年这件事抱着一种开明的态度。

“Just realize that everything springs from a family’s concern,” he said. “Young people should think about enjoying their families’ love and care.”

他说：“要意识到所有这些状况都源于家人的关注。年轻人应该考虑如何去好好享受家人的关爱。”

Experts also notice many young people only return home once a year. The result is that families tend to focus on discussing big issues and ignore basic emotional communications between parents and children.

专家还指出，很多年轻人一年只回家一次。这样的结果是家庭成员只是关注一些大事，而忽略了家长与子女间最基本的情感交流。

“If you go home more often, you could understand each other better and communication would be easier,” said Zhao Peng, vice president of the China Association of Social Workers.

中国社会工作协会赵蓬表示：“如果你回家次数能更多，你和家人就能更好地相互理解，沟通交流也就变得更加容易了。”