Only half of Filipinos expect a merry Christmas, a record-low

Only half of Filipinos expect to have a happy Christmas in a year turned upside-down by the coronavirus pandemic, found Social Weather Stations (SWS) in a survey conducted in November.

Only 50% of 1,500 respondents from all over the country said they believe Christmas this year will be happy (“masaya“), the lowest it’s been since SWS began surveying Filipinos’ outlooks for Christmas in 2002.

It was lower than the previous record-low of 62% in 2013, 2006, and 2005.

It’s a sharp downward turn following recent years of steadily improving expectations for Christmas. In the years 2014 to 2019, the percentage of people expecting a merry Christmas had been gradually rising from 71% to 79% before the sudden dip this year.

The SWS survey was conducted from November 21 to 25, or a month before Christmas. It was the first survey they conducted face-to-face since the start of the pandemic in February. SWS reported sampling error margins of ±2.5% for national percentages, ±4% for Balance Luzon, and ±6% for Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao.

Record-high number of Filipinos expect sad Christmas

Further proving 2020 to be an exceptional year for holiday cheer, the 15% of respondents saying Christmas will be sad this year also reached a record-high of 15%.

Before that, the percentage of those expecting a sad Christmas had mostly been in the single digits, ranging from 2% to 9%. It only previously hit double-digit territory in the years 2004, 2009, and 2011.

Unsurprisingly, expectations of a sad Christmas were highest among poor and hungry families.

SWS found that the belief that Christmas will be sad this year was highest (18%) among families who consider themselves poor, compared to those who rate themselves as “borderline poor” and “not poor.”

Meanwhile, 22% of hungry families said they expect a sad Christmas, a higher percentage than families who did not experience hunger in the last 3 months.

Meanwhile, even the percentage of Filipinos expecting Christmas to be neither happy nor sad also reached new heights at 33%. Previously, the record-high was 29% in 2006.

Over half of Filipinos spending Noche Buena at home

More than half, or 55%, of survey respondents said they would limit their noche buena or Christmas Eve celebration to the family they live with. This is in accordance with government recommendations.

This is much higher than the 11% who said they would prepare noche buena with “relatives from other homes.”

A little less than half or 49%, however, said they would “go to church or attend religious services.” It’s not clear if they were given a chance to distinguish between attending such events virtually or physically.

Other Christmas plans that topped Filipinos’ to-do list included giving gifts to family and friends (11%), sending Christmas greetings online or by text (10%).

Only 9% said they would visit family and friends, and put up Christmas decorations, while 3% would send Christmas greetings through letters or cards. Only 2% would let children visit their godparents, while 1% said they would visit tourist spots that are open.