Welcoming the Snake Year: What the People Have to Say

The sound of firecrackers drives away the old year's evil spirits. (Screenshot from the internet)

[People News] During this Lunar New Year, traditional Chinese customs like family reunions, eating New Year’s Eve dinner, and setting off fireworks remain central to the festivities. But what are ordinary Chinese citizens feeling this year? What hopes or thoughts do they have for the Year of the Snake? On the eve of the Chinese New Year, Radio Free Asia reached out via telephone to interview four Chinese citizens—two men and two women.

According to a report by Radio Free Asia, a woman from a southwestern province in China said that celebrating the Lunar New Year felt relatively subdued. When asked how the holiday is typically celebrated, she mentioned having reunion dinners, New Year's Eve feasts, buying new clothes, and setting off firecrackers and fireworks. When asked if she had any specific thoughts about the new year, she said she was uncertain whether the country would deteriorate further. When pressed about which aspects of the country she was particularly concerned about, the woman declined to elaborate further.

In southern China, a young man working at a hotel shared his New Year’s wish: "To make money!" When asked what kind of money he hoped to make, he jokingly replied, "Big money, like a windfall!" Regarding his plans for the new year, such as whether he might settle down, he said he wasn’t sure yet.

By 2025, China finds itself in the third year of the post-pandemic era, a period that has led some people to deeply reflect on the relationship between humans and nature. A man from central China stated that he had no clear vision for the future, as the past three years of the pandemic had made the world feel surreal. He described his outlook as blurry, saying the future seemed incomprehensible and unpredictable.

He reflected on how the pandemic disrupted the natural order, saying, "The relationships between people and the relationships between humans and nature have become unspeakable. There’s no sense of order anymore. We don’t know how things start or how they end, and we can’t predict what lies ahead."

This man also expressed confusion about international affairs, saying he felt perplexed about the state of the world. "The relationships between nations and between people are in a state of stagnation. Nations are either at war or on the brink of it. What’s the purpose of these wars? It’s hard to understand, explain, or predict." When asked what solutions might exist, he confessed he had none and felt lost.

The reporter also contacted a woman from an eastern province. When asked about her New Year’s wishes, she replied that her expectations were low due to the worsening economic environment. "2025 might bring even more difficulties for people than 2024. As long as everyone can live normally, that’s enough."

When asked how the economy affected her life, she said it had a significant impact. She explained that employment opportunities were dwindling, investment across industries and government sectors had been reduced, and people had less disposable income. "Without money, how can we consume? It creates a vicious cycle," she said.

On how she planned to spend the Lunar New Year, the woman said she would stay home and make dumplings. Asked whether she would watch the CCTV Spring Festival Gala, she said that although she appreciated the hard work of the organizers, her family hadn’t watched it in years. "The gala does aim to help people enjoy the New Year, and its content has a lot of spiritual and inspirational elements. But the constant praise and glorification feel especially fake. They’re always singing praises while the living conditions for ordinary people worsen. It’s just surface-level shouting and doesn’t reflect reality."

As always, the New Year brings a mix of emotions. From this series of interviews, we see that some young people are dreaming of wealth, while those who’ve experienced life’s hardships worry about economic struggles and daily challenges. Meanwhile, reflective individuals ponder why relationships between nations, and between humanity and nature, have become so complex and seemingly unsolvable.