By Helen Flores (The Philippine Star) Updated December 24, 2010
MANILA, Philippines - A majority of Filipinos look forward to a happy Christmas this year, a recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) poll showed.
The SWS survey conducted from Nov. 27 to 30 found 69 percent of respondents expecting a cheerful Christmas, an improvement from last year’s 64 percent.
SWS said the new record breached the “flat” 62-64 percent range recorded during the last six years.
Fewer Filipinos (seven percent), meanwhile, anticipate a bleak holiday this year, SWS said.
People who expect their Christmas to be neither happy nor sad have declined from 26 percent last year to 24 percent.
The SWS said the highest happiness rate of 82 percent was recorded in 2002, the year it began surveying public expectations about Christmas.
SWS said expectations of a merry Christmas remain lowest in Metro Manila at 55 percent, but the result was higher than last year’s 50 percent.
It said the same margin of improvement was recorded for Metro Manila respondents expecting a bleak holiday (11 percent from 16 percent).
SWS said happiness during Christmas among respondents in Metro Manila has been lower than in the Visayas, Mindanao and balance of Luzon since 2003.
SWS noted improvements in the rest of Luzon (70 percent from 62 percent) while in Mindanao and the Visayas the scores remained unchanged at 71 percent and 73 percent, respectively.
Those who expect a sad Christmas declined from eight percent to five percent in balance of Luzon, nine percent to six percent in the Visayas, and nine percent to seven percent in Mindanao.
Those who were neither happy nor sad in their holiday outlook were 33 percent (from 34 percent) in Metro Manila, 24 percent (from 29 percent) in balance of Luzon, 21 percent (from 18 percent) in the Visayas and 20 percent (from 19 percent) in Mindanao.
The survey also found that cheerful expectations were highest among the class D or “masa” at 70 percent, followed by class E at 67 percent and class ABC at 65 percent.
Those who expect a cheerless Christmas were seven percent and eight percent among class D and E, respectively. No one in the class ABC said they expect a sad Christmas, the SWS said.
Those who said Christmas would neither be happy nor sad accounted for 35 percent among the class ABC; 22 percent in class D; and 26 percent in class E.
By age, happiness with Christmas was highest among those aged 18-24 years old at 82 percent, higher than the 68 percent for those 25-34 years old and 35-44 years old, 64 percent for 45-54 years old and 67 percent for those 55 years old and above.
SWS said happiness with Christmas increased in all age brackets compared to 2009, with the biggest increase of 14 points seen among the youth.
Results of the SWS survey published in the newspaper BusinessWorld yesterday also showed that Filipinos prefer to give their loved ones non-material gifts as Christmas presents (57 percent).
SWS said that “love/affection” was the best gift at 29 percent, followed by “family togetherness/family relations” at 17 percent.
Respondents also mentioned good health (three percent); peace and happiness; trust, understanding or better relationships; and prayers in general which scored two percent each, and guidance or support (one percent).
Three in 10 Filipinos (30 percent), meanwhile, preferred material gifts, with 10 percent saying they prefer clothing or shoes, five percent food and gifts in general, four percent money, two percent jewelry and gadgets or household amenities, and one percent toys and house and/or lot.
The survey revealed that love or affection was the most important Christmas gift in all areas as well as socioeconomic classes: 39 percent in the Visayas, 28 percent in Metro Manila, 29 percent in Luzon and 20 percent in Mindanao, 31 percent among the class ABC and D, and 24 percent among the class E.
The SWS survey used face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults nationwide.
Error margins of plus or minus three percentage points for national and plus or minus six percentage points for area percentages were applied in the survey, the SWS said.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) reported that Christmas Day is expected to be rainy and cloudy.
In a Special Weather Outlook issued yesterday, Science Undersecretary and Pagasa officer-in-charge Graciano Yumul said the tail-end of a cold front and wind convergence will be the dominant weather systems in the country until Sunday.
He said these systems were expected to bring mostly cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms over Southern Luzon and the Visayas starting yesterday until Sunday.
Good weather condition, meanwhile, is likely to prevail over the rest of the country despite isolated rain showers, Yumul said.
Yumul said no tropical cyclone is expected to affect the country until the weekend.
He said moderate to strong northeasterly winds would continue to prevail over Luzon and the Visayas and the coastal waters over these areas will be moderate to rough.
“Fishermen along the seaboards of Luzon are alerted against moderate to high waves generated by the strong northeasterly winds,” Yumul said.
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