Seven out of 10 adult Filipinos expect a happy Christmas this year, according to a Social Weather Stations survey.
The survey conducted from December 3 to 6 showed that 73 percent of the 1,500 respondents said they expect a happy Christmas this year.
It is the third highest rating since 2002 when the SWS started the survey.
The all time high was 2002 with 82 percent. It declined to 77 percent the next year before settling in the 62 percent to 69 percent range from 2004 to 2013.
It is also the third straight year that Filipinos expected Christmas to be happy. In 2014 and 2015, 71 and 72 percent expected the holiday season to be merry.
Only five percent expect Christmas to be sad while 21 percent said they were neither happy nor sad.
Expectations of a happy Christmas were highest in Mindanao at 78 percent, followed by the Visayas and the rest of Luzon with 74 percent each.
It was lowest in the National Capital Region with only 66 percent saying they expect their Christmas to be happy. (Vanne Elaine P. Terrazola)