一周热词榜（1.14-20）

5. 恐年族
people suffering from Spring Festival phobia

请看例句：

Many young people suffer from Spring Festival phobia because of the extravagance and waste and pressure that have come to characterize the festival.
铺张浪费和压力已经成了春节的特征，不少年轻人因此沦为"恐年族"。

春节(the Spring Festival/Chinese Lunar New Year)原本是家人团聚(family reunion/get-together)、美满和睦的节日，高涨的人情消费(the expenses associated with maintaining interpersonal relationships)、攀比之风(the craze to vie with each other/keeping up with the Joneses)却让不少人沦为"恐年族(people suffering from Spring Festival phobia, people who have a phobia about the Spring Festival)"。《中国青年报》的一项调查显示，参与调查的网友中77.2%的人表示身边存在恐年族，41.1%的人认为自己就是恐年族。网友票选出的过年最纠结的事包括过年花销、家人逼婚(be pressured by their family to get married)、无颜归家等等。

一些年轻人最发愁的是春节期间的"高消费"。中国有个传统就是过年时长辈会给小孩子红包(it is a Chinese tradition for children to receive money as a New Year gift from elders)。随着人们生活条件的提高(the improvement in people's living conditions)，许多人给亲友的孩子发红包就要发出好几千元。再加上送给父母的礼物以及亲友聚餐的花费，春节期间花费过万的情况并不少见，对许多人来说，这成了沉重的经济负担(heavy economic burden)。

不仅"钱包受伤"，"脾胃受累"也是不少年轻人的担忧。每年春节都要参加老同学的聚会(attend gatherings/parties with former schoolmates)，还有各个亲戚、朋友(relatives and friends)轮番请客。春节的生活几乎就是从一个饭局到另一个饭局，而喝酒几乎是少不了的，身体实在是吃不消，感觉过个年比上班还累(feel more worn out during the holiday than at work)。

无形的心理压力(mental stress/psychological pressure)也让不少年轻人想要"逃避春节"。没男女朋友的被父母和亲戚"催交往"、没有结婚的被"催婚(be urged to get married soon)"、已婚未孕又被"催怀孕"，二孩开放后已婚已生的还有可能被"催生二胎(have a second child)"，这种关心对一些人来说却是一种莫大的压力。此外，因为春节是大家庭(extended families)团聚的机会，春节聚会成了炫耀大会(an arena for showing off)。家长互相攀比孩子的学习成绩，亲友之间则比地位、比财富(parents compare their children's academic performance, while relatives and friends compare status and possessions)。

[相关词汇]

节日恐惧症 holiday phobia

春联 spring couplets

年画 new year paintings

节日送礼 holiday gift giving

年货经济 Spring Festival shopping-generated economy

假日购物季 holiday shopping season