MANILA, DECEMBER 24, 2010 (MANILA TIMES) BY JOVEE MARIE N. DE LA CRUZ REPORTER
A Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey released on Thursday showed that majority of Filipinos expect their Christmas this year to be merry.
Results of the poll, which was first published in BusinessWorld, revealed that seven out of 10 Filipinos—69 percent—look forward to have a happy holiday season.
This figure improved on last year's, which was 64 percent.
In contrast, about 7 percent of those surveyed anticipate the holidays to be bleak, compared to last year's 10 percent.
And 24 percent of respondents said that their Christmas would be neither happy nor sad—a 2-percent plunge from last year.
In the National Capital Region, or Metro Manila, those who expect a happy Christmas stood at 55 percent—a figure that the survey agency said remains to be lower than the ones found in the rest of Luzon (70 percent), the Visayas (71 percent) and Mindanao (73 percent).
Among socio-economic classes, the poll showed that those belonging to Class D anticipate a joyous holiday season the most at 70 percent, followed by Class E (67 percent) and Classes ABC (65 percent).
The survey revealed that those between 18 and 24 years old look forward to Christmas cheer the most at 82 percent, compared to those in the following age groups: 25 to 34 (68 percent), 35 to 44 (68 percent), 45 to 54 (64 percent) and 55 above (67 percent).
When asked what they considered to be the most important gift they could give to their loved ones, 57 percent of respondents replied non-material presents.
Among these, "love/affection" scored the highest at 29 percent, followed by "family togetherness/family relations" at 17 percent.
Other non-tangible gifts mentioned were good health (3 percent); peace and happiness, trust, understanding or better relationships, prayers (2 percent); and guidance or support (1 percent).
Thirty percent of respondents, however, preferred material presents.
In all geographical areas and socioeconomic classes, those polled said that love/affection was the most important Christmas gift.
The SWS survey, which was conducted between November 27 and 30 this year, conducted face-to-face interviews with 1,200 respondents in Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.
It has a margin of error of plus/minus 3 percent for national percentages and plus/minus 6 percent for area percentages.
The SWS emphasized that this particular survey was not commissioned, but conducted on its own initiative and released as a public service.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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