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Simbang Gabi at the Cubao Cathedral, Dec. 16, 2025. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

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Paige Javier

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/176654866769320251216-simbang-gabi-cubao-cathedral-MT22.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Simbang Gabi at the Cubao Cathedral, Dec. 16, 2025. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News</span></span></span></div><p>MANILA (<strong>UPDATED</strong>) -- About 68% of adult Filipinos expect a &#x27;happy&#x27; Christmas this year, slightly higher than the 65% recorded in 2024, based on a survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS). </p><p>&quot;The 68% expecting a happy Christmas is 3 points higher than 65% in 2024, but 5 points lower than 73% in both 2023 and 2022. It is 18 points above the record-low 50% in 2020 but 11 points below the pre-pandemic level of 79% in 2019,&quot; the SWS said. </p><p>In the same survey, the number of Filipinos expecting a &#x27;sad&#x27; Christmas also lowered to 7% compared to the 10% in the same period last year.  </p><p>It also showed that a quarter or 25% of Filipinos said they neither expect their Christmas to be happy or sad. </p><p>&quot;On the other hand, 7% expect a sad Christmas, down from 10 % in 2024 and similar to the 6-8% range from 2021 to 2023. It is 8 points below the record-high 15% in 2020,&quot; the SWS said. </p><p>&quot;The expectation of a sad Christmas was customarily at single-digit levels, ranging from 2% to 9%. It reached double-digit levels only in 2004, 2009, 2011, 2020, and 2024, ranging from 10% to 15%,&quot; the poll firm added.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2025/12/24/dole-sets-holiday-pay-rules-for-christmas-1052">READ: DOLE sets holiday pay rules for Christmas</a></div><div><a class="fr-strong fr-green" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/12/24/pope-leo-xiv-calls-for-global-truce-on-christmas-day-0721">READ: Pope Leo XIV calls for global truce on Christmas Day</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>WHAT ARE PINOYS MOST THANKFUL FOR? </strong></div><p>Apart from their expectations this holiday season, Filipinos were also asked what they were most thankful for in life. </p><p>According to the SWS survey, good health remained the top reason Filipinos were thankful for this Christmas and the year-end.  </p><p>&quot;From 2023 to 2025, in all areas, Good health remained the top reason to be thankful for  in life as Christmas and the end of the year approach. As of November 2025, it was highest in the Visayas at 55%, followed by Metro Manila, Mindanao, and Balance Luzon, at 42% each,&quot; the SWS said. </p><p>&quot;Compared to 2024, responses related to Good health stayed at 42% in Balance Luzon, while it hardly changed from 57% in the Visayas. However, it fell from 51% in Metro Manila and 48% in Mindanao,&quot; it added. </p><p>Other top reasons mentioned were family, being alive and thankful for God.  </p><p>The survey was conducted from November 24 to 30, 2025, among 1,200 individuals aged 18 years old and above, was made public Wednesday morning, the eve of Christmas. </p><div><br/></div>

<p>Around 68 percent of Filipinos were expecting the coming Christmas to be happy, according to a Social Weather Stations report released on Wednesday. </p>

Around 68 percent of Filipinos were expecting the coming Christmas to be happy, according to a Social Weather Stations report released on Wednesday.

SWS: Nearly 7 in 10 Filipinos expect a happy Christmas

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SWS: Nearly 7 in 10 Filipinos expect a happy Christmas

Paige Javier,

ABS-CBN News

Published Dec 24, 2025 11:59 AM PHT

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Updated Dec 24, 2025 04:12 PM PHT

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