My favorite story that always stayed with me growing up and the sentiment that resonated with me about the holiday season was a story about a wife and husband. As I age, I can't remember the exact name of the story, but it something to do with the wife selling her hair and the husband selling his watch. To me, the story represented everything that was the holiday season. I'll see if I can find the title and more details of the story. I think there were more than one version of it out there, but I first remember it being read in one of my classes when I was a young girl. Those were the kinds of stories that meant something to me and I took to heart.
PS. I Found the title, it's "The Gift of Magi" By O Henry.