Saturday was a terrific day of showing the giving nature of Sevier County.

In Sevierville, families came by to select coats as part of Smoky Mountain Area Rescue Ministries’ annual coats event. Nearby, First Baptist Church held its annual Christmas gift giveaway, as families lined up to receive the food and gifts the church had collected and organized for them. At the Sevierville Community Center the annual Teen Christmas and Shiloh Riders Toy Run project reached their climax with hundreds of people having a happier Christmas thanks to the generosity of many others.

In Pigeon Forge, the Toys for Tots giveaway was held at Belz Mall, and that drew hundreds of children and their parents to receive toys and other items to make their holiday brighter.

Today, The Lord’s Child has its annual toy giveaway for families that signed up for assistance. And on Thursday, Banner Baptist Church hosts more than 200 clients of Douglas Cherokee Economic Authority for a Christmas party at River Terrace in Gatlinburg.

There are other such events, either already held or scheduled this week. Groups large and small reach out to assist those less fortunate at this special time of the year. It is a glorious example of the Christmas spirit of giving rather than receiving.

The cynics among us — and they are legion in Sevier County — will point out that we should be helping people year-round, and that some families get things from several different agencies, thus giving them a bigger Christmas than even some of the donors might be having. Yes, we should do more to help people in need throughout the year, and many agencies remain active January through November to assist people with basic needs like clothes, rent and utility payments.

But Christmas is different. In addition to its religious significance, there is the commercial aspect to it. We just don’t want to see children or their parents go without at this time of the year.

The disappointment at having little or nothing in the way of material goods at Christmas time simply goes against what we think of as the Christmas spirit. So we do a little more this time of the year. It makes us feel better as we help others to feel the same way.

Thanks to the organizations, clubs, churches and social agencies for all they do at Christmas time to make lives happier and more fulfilled. When hunger pains go away, and homes are warm, and the tree has gifts under it, we all are better for it.