MANILA, Philippines — More Filipinos are expecting Christmas to be happy this year compared to last year, according to a survey released Friday by private pollster Social Weather Stations.
The poll conducted from December 10 to 14 showed that 73% of Filipino adults expect Christmas to be happy, up from 65% in 2021 but still below the 79% recorded in the year before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Only 7% expect a sad Christmas, while 19% are ambivalent about the occasion.
Partly fueling the expectation of happiness this Christmas is the rise in the number of Filipinos who said they will be attending in-person gatherings with family and friends from other homes, which is up to 61% from 46% last year.
Among those who said that they will be attending in-person gatherings, 80% said Christmas will be happy, which is higher than the 63% among those who will not be doing so.
Christmas is even happier now compared to pre-pandemic times for those attending in-person gatherings, with 54% of those who will be participating in these activities saying so.
While in-person gatherings for Christmas appear to be making a return two years after the pandemic began, 84% of Filipinos said they will still not be traveling to visit family and friends this Christmas, while 15% said they will be doing so.
The SWS conducted the survey using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults nationwide. — Xave Gregorio