BEIJING, Sept. 14 (Xinhuanet) -- A survey has found that many people would like a holiday for the Chinese traditional Mid-Autumn Festival that falls on Sept. 28 this year.

    The snap poll of 363 participants conducted by the China Youth Daily and the portal sina.com found that 92 percent of those polled thought the traditional festival was important and should continue, and 86 percent wanted a day off on the Mid-Autumn Festival, reported Shenzhen Daily.

    Traditional festivals were recognized by more than 90 percent of the participants, but were ranked differently in terms of their significance.

    The Spring Festival was voted the most important, with 27 percent, followed by the Mid-Autumn Festival with 22 percent. Others received little support with the Dragon Boat Festival attracting 15 percent, the Tomb-Sweeping Festival and the Lantern Festival, both 14 percent, the Double Ninth Festival, 5 percent, and the Qixi Festival, 4 percent.

    The result is striking, compared with how Valentine¡¯s Day is celebrated each year. Young people rush to buy roses Feb. 14 to celebrate the western festival and flower prices skyrocket.

    The survey suggested poor knowledge of Chinese traditional festivals would explain the result. Also, most festivals fall on busy weekdays and people usually celebrate simply by eating special food, related to the festivals.

    The fast pace of life also decided people¡¯s monotonous ways of celebrating the festivals. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, 42 percent said they spent the night with their family, 27 percent said they ate moon cakes and watched the moon, while 13 percent said they did not celebrate the festival.

(Shenzhen Daily)