MANILA, Philippines - While almost everyone are exchanging merry Christmas greetings 2 days before Christmas Day, a survey result released on Wednesday showed that only 3 of 5 adult Filipinos, or 64%, expect it to be happy.

This has been the case for the past 6 years.

The Social Weather Stations (SWS), in its Fourth Quarter of 2009 Social Weather Survey, asked 2,100 adult respondents: “Sa pangkalahatan, masasabi po ba ninyo na ang Pasko ninyo ngayong taon ay magiging: masaya, malungkot, hindi masaya at hindi rin malungkot (In general, would you say that your Christmas this year would be: happy, sad, neither happy nor sad).”

The 2009 SWS survey result for those who responded that Christmas would be "happy" was hovered around the 60% to 64% range since 2004.

The survey firm, meanwhile, said 26% expects Christmas in 2009 will be "neither happy nor sad." Some 10% of the respondents expect the season to be "sad."

Those who are expecting a "sad" Christmas in 2009 is slightly higher than the 7% to 8% reported from 2005 to 2008. The percentage of respondents this year expecting a sad Christmas matched the all-time high sadness level of 10% posted in 2004, said SWS.

In 2002 and 2003, only 3% expected to have a sad Christmas.

The survey, which was not commissioned, was conducted from December 5 to 10, using face-to-face interviews. The respondents were divided into random samples of 300 in Metro Manila and 600 each in Balance of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao (sampling error margins of ±2.2% for national percentages, ±6% for Metro Manila and ±4% for Balance Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao).

Least "happy" Christmas in Metro Manila

Respondents from Metro Manila registered the lowest--1 of 2 or 50%--among those who expect a "happy" Christmas this 2009. This is lower than the 62% of respondents with "happy" Christmas expectations in other parts of Luzon, 68% in Visayas, and 71% in Mindanao. 

Since 2003, there are less Metro Manila respondents who have been expecting a "happy" Christmas compared to the other areas of the the country, according to the poll organization.

The "happy" Christmas prospect for Metro Manila respondents has been sliding. It was 55% in both 2007 and 2008, though higher than the 45% recorded in 2006.

By the same margin, those expecting a "sad" Christmas increased to 16% from from 11% in the previous year.

In other parts of Luzon, those who said they expect a "happy" Christmas slightly increased to 62% in 2009 from 59% in 2008. In Visayas and Mindanao, the percentages of those anticipating a happy 2009 Christmas are similar to those who expected a "happy" 2008 Christmas, said SWS.

Those who are expecting a "sad" 2009 Christmas in Luzon was recorded at 8%, unchanged since 2006. In Visayas, however, those who expect a "sad" Christmas this year is 11%, up 3 points from the previous year. In Mindanao, it is 9% for 2009.

"Happy" same at all classes…

The SWS said the 2009 survey results showed that those expecting a "happy" Christmas in 2009 are about the same across all socio-economic classes: 66% among upper to middle classes (or ABC classes), 63% among “masa” (class D), and 64% among the very poor (class E).

Among classes ABC, however, those expecting a "happy" Christmas declined to 66% from 71% in 2008 this year. 

The firm added that the percentages of those who expect a "happy" Christmas this year barely changed among class D, from 61% to 63%, and class E, from 65% to 64%. 

… but more of very poor expect it to be "sad"

Those expecting a "sad" Christmas in 2009 barely changed among classes ABC, from 5% to 6%, and class D, from 8% to 10%.

Among class E or the very poor, however, those expecting a "sad" Christmas this year doubled from 6% in the previous year to 12% in 2009.

Meanwhile, most of the Muslim respondents in the 2009 survey are neutral on their expectations with Christmas. Around 50% said they expect their Christmas this year to be "neither happy nor sad." Around 25% expect it to be "happy" while 23% expect it to be "sad."

Among the respondents who were Roman Catholics, 65% said they expect a "happy" Christmas, slightly lower than the 68% among Other Christians who are also expecting a "happy" Christmas in 2009.

Among the youth, 68% expect a "happy" Christmas among those who are 18 to 24 years old expect, and 66% among the intermediate youth [ages 25 to 34]. This is slightly higher than the 63% among those who are 35 to 44 year old, 60% among the 45 to 54, and 62% among the 55 and older.