64% expect a happy Christmas

MANILA, Philippines - Despite recent natural calamities, six out of 10 Filipino adults are still expecting a happy Christmas, according to the latest survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS).

The Fourth Quarter 2009 Social Weather Survey, conducted from Dec. 5 to 10, found that 64 percent of adult Filipinos expect a happy Christmas this year, while 10 percent expect it to be sad.

On the other hand, 26 percent say it will be neither happy nor sad, according to the results released yesterday.

SWS said a majority or 82 percent expected a happy Christmas in 2002 when SWS first surveyed expectations about Christmas to-come, dropping slightly to 77 percent in 2003.

However, starting 2004, the percentage of adult Filipinos expecting a happy Christmas has been in the sixties - 64 percent in 2004, 62 percent in both 2005 and 2006, 64 percent in 2007, and 63 percent in 2008.

On the other hand, SWS said the 10 percent who are expecting a sad Christmas in 2009 is slightly higher than the seven to eight percent reported from 2005 to 2008.

It matches the all-time high sadness level of 10 percent posted in 2004, the survey firm said.

In 2002 and 2003, on the other hand, only three percent reported having a sad Christmas, it said.

SWS said happiness with Christmas is lowest in Metro Manila.

Those expecting a happy Christmas in 2009 are 50 percent in Metro Manila, lower than the 62 percent in balance Luzon, 68 percent in the Visayas and 71 percent in Mindanao.

In Metro Manila, those who are expecting a happy Christmas in 2009 declined by five points down from 55 percent in both 2007 and 2008.

By the same margin, those expecting a sad Christmas increased from 11 percent in the previous year to 16 percent.

SWS said that happiness with Christmas has been lower among Metro Manila respondents than in the other three areas since 2003.

In 2002, 77 percent of Metro Manila respondents anticipated a happy Christmas, but slumped to 65 percent in 2003 and 48 percent in 2004. It rose to 55 percent in 2005 but fell again to its lowest 45 percent in 2006.

In balance Luzon, those expecting a happy Christmas slightly increased from 59 percent last year to 62 percent in 2009.

Eight percent expect a sad Christmas this year, unchanged since 2006.

In the Visayas and Mindanao, while the percentages of those anticipating a happy 2009 Christmas are similar to those who expected a happy 2008 Christmas, those expecting a sad Christmas slightly increased in 2009, the SWS said.

In the Visayas, those expecting a happy Christmas in 2009 barely changed from 70 percent in 2008 to 68 percent this year.

Those who expect a sad Christmas this year is 11 percent, up by three points from eight percent in the previous year.

In Mindanao, the 71 percent who are anticipating a happy 2009 Christmas is similar to the 70 percent posted in 2008.

Those who expect a sad Christmas this year is nine percent, up by four points from five percent in 2008.

The survey also found that happiness with Christmas is the same across all socio-economic classes.

It was 66 percent among upper to middle classes ABC, 63 percent among the “masa” or class D and 64 percent among the very poor class E.

Among classes ABC, those expecting a happy Christmas declined from 71 percent in 2008 to 66 percent in 2009.

Compared with 2008, the percentages of those who expect a happy Christmas in 2009 barely changed among class D, from 61 percent to 63 percent, and class E, from 65 percent to 64 percent.

Among class E, those expecting a sad Christmas doubled from six percent in the previous year to 12 percent in 2009.

Those expecting a sad Christmas in 2009 barely changed among classes ABC, from five percent to six percent and class D, from eight percent to 10 percent.

Meanwhile, the latest survey also revealed that most of the Muslim respondents are neutral on their expectations of Christmas, with 50 percent expecting their Christmas this year to be neither happy nor sad, 25 percent expect it to be happy, and 23 percent expect it to be sad.

Among Catholics, 65 percent expect a happy Christmas, slightly lower than the 68 percent among other Christians who are also expecting a happy Christmas in 2009.

SWS said that happiness with Christmas slightly higher among the younger respondents.

 Those expecting a happy Christmas in 2009 are 68 percent among the youth in the 18-24 age bracket and 66 percent among the intermediate youth, 25 to 34 years old.

It was slightly higher than the 63 percent among those aged 35 to 44, 60 percent among the 45 to 54, and 62 percent among those aged 55 and above.

The non-commissioned survey used face-to-face interviews of 2,100 adults divided into random samples of 300 in Metro Manila and 600 each in balance of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

It has a sampling error margin of plus or minus 2.2 percentage points for national percentages, plus or minus six percentage points for Metro Manila and plus or minus four percentage points for balance Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. - Helen Flores