Christmas is just around the corner, and the sights and sounds of the season are all around us. From Christmas parades and pageants to shopping sprees and songs of “Sweet Decembers,” folks are getting into the yuletide spirit.This year, I’ll forgo my usual fulminations against the crass commercialization and wretched excesses of Christmastime in America. Instead, I’ll reflect on the joys of giving.“It is better to give than to receive.”