One of my most striking memories is the Christmas of 1995. My nine-year-old son and I had moved to the tiny rural community of Delhaven, in the Annapolis Valley near Canning. Money was tight as I'd just finished my studies at Acadia and I was only working part-time. A local man had a sign up selling sheared Christmas trees, and we wanted one, even though I knew the going rate for sheared fir trees was $20-a lot of money to us.

Nevertheless, to the lot we went, soon finding a tree we liked-only it was too big to stick in my Dodge Colt. Andre, the tree lot owner, cut the tree, put it in his own vehicle and delivered it to my house. When I went to give him the $20, he said he only wanted $7. I insisted. "Nope. Too much money for one tree," he replied. That was my welcome to the Canning area. It was also a sweet example of the generosity of Atlantic Canadians during the holidays. Something simple, maybe unimportant to the person who did it, yet it lingers fondly with me to this day.

What makes the holidays special for people varies as much as the decorations we see on a Christmas tree, no question. Many people embrace the time with zeal and enthusiasm-baking, shopping, decorating, wrapping, entertaining and exchanging gifts.

On the other hand, for some people it is hard to enjoy the holidays, finding it "cluttered with expectations, old hurts, obligations and too many commitments packed into too few days," says Katherine Gibson, the author of Unclutter Your Life.

Yet a number of people from both camps have found something in common about the holidays: an opportunity to step outside the regular traditions and expectations of the holidays and be truly inspired by the spirit of the season. Now, a disclosure about myself: I have no religious affiliation. For me, acts of kindness and the general goodwill apparent in people's actions are truly what I appreciate about the winter holidays.

Whether it's the willingness of emergency workers and others who work in  essential services to volunteer to work on Christmas day so that co-workers with young families can spend time with their children, or the time spent raising extra funds and goods for food banks and other services for the less fortunate-these are tiny but magnificent gifts that may or may not be acknowledged but are always appreciated.

A few people contend that the truest way to celebrate the holiday spirit is to do something to help someone else. In giving of themselves, whether by helping to provide hot meals and food for needy families, creating knitted goods to share, volunteering at a shelter or soup kitchen-the ways are countless-they feel they receive even more.

"When we recognize that happiness is the sum of many small blessings working in harmony with each other, then the spirit can rise above a culture that is hooked on instant-everything and satisfied with little," says Gibson.

"Christmas is the time to reflect and refresh our bodies and our spirits in an embrace of gratitude for the blessings of the year. When we appreciate what we have, rather than focus on what we don't have, we come into an understanding of abundance."

Elsie and Paul Nowlan of Moncton  embrace the idea of celebrating their abundance by sharing it with others. About 20 years ago, Elsie was about as low as she could possibly be. Suffering from a chronic and debilitating health condition, she was unable to work, and could do nothing as she lost her home and most of her possessions. Just before Christmas that year, as she watched Christmas Daddies, the annual television fundraising show, she made a promise to herself: "If I ever get better and get back on my feet, I will help other people."

Eventually, Elsie did recuperate. She went on to meet and marry Paul, and became a successful businesswoman and entrepreneur. And she didn't forget her promise. One Christmas, the couple decided to help three families they knew of who were in need. They made up bundles of food-meat pies, soups, apple pies, bread and other items-and took them to the families. The next year, they thought it would be nice to do even more, but decided they needed a full-sized kitchen to work in. It wasn't long before they started a group through St. Augustine Roman Catholic Church, which they now call The Christmas Chef.

For 15 years, the group of dedicated volunteers have been helping a growing number of families. Two weeks before Christmas, more than a dozen volunteers meet at the church hall kitchen, where they have a day of baking meat pies, breads, fudge, stews, and other goodies. Everything is frozen after this spree of cooking and baking, and then the largesse is divided up to families around the Moncton area. The church gets the names of needy families from other agencies and does the deliveries on Christmas Eve. Last year, 125 families received a food basket from The Christmas Chef.

"People donate money or goods to help us get the supplies, companies contribute too, but whatever is still needed Paul and I cover, and that's our Christmas to each other," Elsie says. "After all, what IS Christmas? It's not the stuff you get; it's the magic that happens when people care for other people. That's what makes it special to me."

Many businesses and corporations also get into the spirit of helping others. Take Lewiscraft, the Canadian Crafts Experts, operating a chain of hobby and craft supply shops throughout most of Canada. Every year since 1986, Lewiscraft hosts a Knit for Kids program, where customers and staff purchase yarn, receive a free pattern to make hats, scarves and mittens, and knit these items. When they bring them to contribute to the program, they receive a full refund for the yarn purchased.

"Last year alone, customers and staff provided more than 30,200 items in this manner, which are distributed to needy children by local Salvation Army groups across Canada," says Connie Nesbitt of Lewiscraft.

Every December 25, a group of eager volunteers in the Annapolis Valley celebrate Christmas by putting on a full dinner for needy people in the Kentville Recreation Hall. The dinner is done as a special project by Treasure House Soup Kitchen, an organization of volunteers that provides hot meals on Tuesdays in Kentville and Thursdays in nearby New Minas.

Eve and John Steenbeek have been the driving forces behind the soup kitchen and the special Christmas meal for many years. "We coordinate the volunteers and the supplies, and it's wonderful how much help we receive. Businesses are very generous and we never have to fundraise or beg for help," Eve says. "We have businesses whose staff purchase and wrap gifts for the children who will be attending the Christmas dinner, and that really makes it special for everyone."

The Steenbeeks spend a lot of time in the week leading up to December 25 preparing for the dinner, and then are joined starting at 7 a.m. Christmas morning by their helpers, who will be there until the last dish is washed. Many of the same faces return to help year after year.

"This is our way of saying thank you for all we have," says one woman who has helped out at the dinner for a number of years.

"It gives a message of hope to people, and hope carries all of us by times."