Fewer Pinoys expect happy Christmas in 2024: SWS

Catholic devotees flock to the St. Peter Parish: Shrine of Leaders in Quezon City for the first day of Simbang Gabi or Dawn Mass on December 16, 2024. Simbang Gabi is a nine-day series of Masses leading up to Christmas Day. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN NewsMANILA — Fewer Filipinos expect Christmas 2024 to be a happy occasion compared to the previous year, according to the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey.

Based on the survey conducted from Dec. 12 to 18, 65 percent of Filipino adults expect their Christmas to be happy, showing a drop of 8 percentage points from 73 percent in 2023.

On the other hand, the number of Filipinos expecting a sad celebration of the yuletide season rose to 10 percent, up from 6 percent in 2023.

Twenty-six percent of survey respondents, meanwhile, said they expect Christmas to be neither happy nor sad.

Mindanao recorded the most respondents who anticipated a happy Christmas this 2024 at 73 percent, followed by the Visayas at 71 percent, Balance Luzon at 59 percent, and Metro Manila at 58 percent.

Metro Manila recorded the highest decline in expectation of a happy Christmas by 14 points from 72 percent in 2023. Balance Luzon fell by 11 points from 70 percent, while the Visayas decreased by 7 points from 78 percent.

The expectation for a happy Christmas "hardly moved" from 74 percent in Mindanao, SWS noted.

Educational background

The survey also showed declines in optimism across all educational levels. Among college graduates, 70 percent expressed optimism about the holiday, though this marked a decline from 75 percent in 2023. Similarly, optimism among those with senior high school education dropped from 80 percent to 67 percent.

Among non-elementary graduates, those expecting a happy Christmas dropped by 7 points, from 64 percent to 57 percent. Optimism among elementary graduates fell by 8 points, from 71 percent to 63 percent, while junior high school graduates saw a 7-point decrease, from 72 percent to 65 percent.

Good health emerged as the top aspect most Filipinos were thankful for during Christmas and as 2024 drew to a close, cited by 47 percent of the respondents, the survey revealed. This was followed by gratitude for family (25 percent) and being alive (24 percent).

Other sources of gratitude included employment and God, both cited by 7 percent of respondents, followed by being able to eat three meals a day (6 percent), the ability to cope with daily hardships (5 percent), and “all the blessings” (4 percent). Peace and safety, happiness, and prosperity were each mentioned by 3 percent.

The survey was conducted through face-to-face interviews with 2,160 adults and has a ±2 percent margin of error for national results. Regional sampling included 1,080 respondents from Balance Luzon (areas outside Metro Manila), and 360 each from Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao.

On early Wednesday, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. reminded the public that festivities for Christmas did not need to be grand for the occasion to be joyous.

READ: Marcos Jr. says Christmas festivities do not need to be grand for it to be merry