Almost seven in every 10 Filipinos expect a happy Christmas this year, according to a Social Weather Stations survey from November 24 to 30, 2025. This marks a slight increase from 65% in 2024, but remains below the 73% recorded in 2022 and 2023. Expectations of a sad Christmas fell to 7% from 10%.
The Social Weather Stations (SWS) conducted a survey from November 24 to 30, 2025, released on December 25. It found that 68% of respondents expect their Christmas to be happy, 7% sad, and 25% neither happy nor sad. This is an increase from 65% in 2024, but lower than the 73% in 2022 and 2023.
The highest rate of expected happy Christmas was 82% in 2002, while the lowest was 50% in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It recovered to 65% in 2021. According to SWS, expectations rose across all regions: 76% in Mindanao (from 73%), 73% in the Visayas (from 71%), and 64% in Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon (from 58% and 59%, respectively).
Although the survey did not ask why they expect a happy Christmas, it inquired about things they are thankful for. The most common responses were good health (45%), family (29%), being alive (28%), God (10%), food to eat (6%), coping with daily hardships (5%), and others. 'Good health' has been the top reason from 2023 to 2025, highest in the Visayas at 55%.
This comes amid slower economic growth in the third quarter of 2025 and unchanged inflation in October, as well as a flood control and infrastructure corruption scandal.