By Kaela Gabriel

PHOTO: Ted Aljibe/AFP
A good majority of Filipinos were expecting the last holiday of the year to be merry as per the recent national Social Weather Stations (SWS) Survey which revealed that 65% of the population anticipated a ‘happy Christmas’.

The survey showed that there is an increase of 15% on the Christmas happiness expectation results in this year’s survey compared to the previous year’s data of 50%.

SWS also revealed that Visayas held the highest results of considering the pandemic Christmas as ‘happier now than during pre-pandemic times’ with 32% compared to Luzon and Mindanao’s 25% and 24% respectively.

A total of 1,440 adults ages 18 and above were interviewed for the said survey conducted on December 12 to 16. 

The highest record of ‘happy Christmas’ expectations was way back in 2002 with 82% which gradually decreased over the years, while the lowest was reported in 2020, the same year COVID-19 was declared as a global health crisis.

Meanwhile, as of 4 p.m. of December 25, the Department of Health recorded a total of 433 COVID-19 cases, bringing the total tally to 2,777,818.

The DOH also reminded the public again in a Facebook post to remain adherent to the minimum health protocols such as wearing of face masks, face shields, observing physical distancing, and handwashing.