A survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed that most Filipinos placed the highest premium on good health, family, and “being alive” this Christmas.
The fourth quarter SWS poll asked 2,160 adults the open-ended question: “As Christmas and the end of the year approaches, may I know what one or two things are you most thankful for in your life right now?”
Almost half of the respondents, or some 47 percent of them said they are most thankful for “Good Health,” 25 percent indicated they were most thankful “For Family” while 24 percent were most thankful for just “Being Alive,” the survey revealed.
Following the top three responses, the respondents expressed gratitude for their Jobs/Career/Income (7%), to God (7%), and for having three meals daily (6%).
Less than one percent of the respondents indicated that they were most thankful for material or worldly things.
The same survey, which was conducted December 12 to 18 with respondents scattered nationwide, also revealed that 65 percent of adult Filipinos were expecting this Christmas to be happy (masaya), 10 percent expected it to be sad (malungkot), and 26 percent expected it to be neither happy nor sad.
“The 65% expecting a happy Christmas is 8 points down from 73% in 2023 and 2022, and the same as in 2021. It is 15 points above the record-low 50% in 2020 but 14 points below the pre-pandemic level of 79% in 2019,” the SWS said in its report.
“The expectation of a happy Christmas was a record-high 82% when first surveyed by SWS in 2002. It fell to 77% in 2003 and dropped to a 62-69% range from 2004 to 2013. It rose to a 71-79% range from 2014 to 2019 before it fell to a record-low 50% in 2020,” the pollster added citing historical data.
Furthermore, the survey indicated that Metro Manila residents were the gloomiest with only 58 percent expecting their Christmas to be happy (59% Balance Luzon), while Mindanao residents were the most optimistic with 73 percent looking forward to being happy during the Yuletide celebrations.
Meanwhile, a Philippine National Police (PNP) assessment indicated that Filipinos adhered to the season’s true spirit on Christmas Eve.
Police Brigadier General Jean Fajardo, the PNP’s spokesperson, said that despite nationwide festivities and merriment usually associated with the occasion, the night before Christmas came and went without much trouble. ‘’Generally peaceful nationwide with no significant untoward incident recorded,’’ she told reporters.
