Manila, Philippines – Seventy-three percent of adult Filipinos are expecting this year’s Christmas to be “happy” while six percent anticipate it to be “sad,” a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey conducted from December 8 to 11, 2023 revealed.
On the other hand, 21 percent of Filipinos expect this Christmas to be “neither happy nor sad.” SWS said it its report released Saturday:
“The 73 percent expecting a happy Christmas is the same as in 2022 and 23 points above the record-low 50 percent in 2020. It is still six points below the pre-pandemic level of 79 percent in 2019.”
For 2023, SWS noted that those expecting a happy Christmas were highest in the Visayas at 78 percent. A close second was Mindanao at 74 percent, Balance Luzon at 70 percent and Metro Manila at 72 percent. Compared last year, the expectation of a happy Christmas at 78 percent in the Visayas while there’s little change from 75 percent in Mindanao, 71 percent in Luzon and 71 percent in Metro Manila.
Those expecting a happy Christmas also hardly changed across educational levels. In contrast to 2022, those expecting a happy Christmas hardly changed from 74 percent to 75 percent among college graduates, from 74 percent to 75 percent among junior high school graduates, from 73 percent to 71 percent among elementary graduates and from 68 perrcent to 64 percent among non-elementary graduates.
The respondents were also allowed to give up to two answers to this question: “As Christmas and the end of the year approaches, may I know what one or two things are you most thankful for in your life right now?”
Most Filipinos are thankful for good health at 51 percent, family at 29 percent and 16 percent for being alive. The top three responses were followed by job / career / income (10 percent), food to eat (8 percent), coping with daily hardships (8 perrcent), prosperity (5 percent), all the blessings (3 percent), education (3 percent), peace and safety (3 percent) and God (2 percent).
One percent of the responses were related to love life / spouse, motorcycle / vehicle, surviving an illness or surgery, happy life, house, financial support, having no worries or problems, and material things. Less than one percent said being able to help others (0.3 percent) while the rest of the other responses consisted 1 percent. The remaining 2 percent of the respondents did not give an answer. The fourth quarter 2023 survey was conducted through face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults nationwide. (Marlon Luistro)
