The holiday season is a time for gratitude – and for generosity.

The economic pain felt by Americans and Mainers this year has been considerable; even in more comfortable households, the cost of living can sting.

The weeks after the election led to a statistical bump in consumer confidence; voters tend to enjoy a sense of having chosen a redemptive course of action during this period, be it economic or otherwise.

In the end, the reality may be quite different; President-elect Donald Trump and his comrades have already been pretty outspoken about the need for initial “hardship” caused by promised spending cuts and austerity in the pursuit of federal government “efficiency” – to say nothing of the price of the hefty tariffs and sweeping plans for deportation that have been floated.

If you aren’t bracing for that, you aren’t, as they say, paying attention.

But back to today.

According to Census Bureau data released earlier this month, the number of Mainers in so-called “deep poverty” – that is, with fewer than half the resources needed to reach the poverty line – rose from 4% to 4.8% between 2019 and 2023.

The day-to-day struggle is not restricted to this cohort; a study released earlier this year by the United Way estimated that nearly half of all Maine households were having a hard time covering their basic expenses.

That study focused on families that can be categorized under the acronym ALICE: Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. That last element – the fact that poverty can afflict those in gainful employment – is often hard for the more fortunate among us to wrap our heads around.

“They often don’t qualify for public assistance and they’re just getting by, living paycheck-to-paycheck,” was the summary of Courtney Yeager, president and chief executive of United Way of Kennebec Valley.

Recall the 2022 Maine Sunday Telegram report about the Cannell family, which laid bare the shadowy depths of Maine’s ferocious housing crisis. At that time, Jeanie Cannell, her husband, Roger, and his daughter Margaret had been sleeping in an old van at the Kennebunkport service plaza despite two of three holding down full-time jobs.

This past year, inflation hasn’t been a notion – it’s been felt across the board. Wages can’t keep pace and people can’t stay afloat. The Portland Press Herald’s annual toy drive is experiencing a spike in requests for help (by last week, more than 1,500 Maine families had sent in applications for toys), and the testimonials from those hopeful parents require no embellishment at all.

“Been struggling just getting food on the table,” was how a mom of four from Androscoggin County, in her application to the Toy Fund, summed up her challenge. “Working 40-plus hour weeks and still can’t get ends to meet. The cost of everything is up but my checks are the same. Rent keeps going up, and this time of the year heating is an added bill I will also have to struggle with.”

Another mother wrote: “I cannot even buy Christmas dinner let alone gifts.”

Fortunately, there is a lot of goodness and generosity out there.

The Toy Fund has already ordered a second round of toys to keep up with the requests. Jeff Ham, who manages operations for the fund, struck an optimistic note about Mainers’ capacity to meet the need: “I can’t say we’ll always be that way, but it is something that people just do,” Ham said. “The support seems to be there year after year.”

Last week, Thanksgiving fundraisers and free community meals were held the length and breadth of the state. Any amount of charity and care for others goes a very long way. Reflecting on this last week, we were reminded of a recent letter to the editor from veteran Frank Slason of Augusta (Nov. 23), who himself wrote to give thanks for a clothing and food drive.

“On behalf of my homeless brothers,” Slason (91) wrote, “I want to thank all of the people and the organizers who served hundreds of us with friendship, and compassion, and fitted all of us with winter clothing. Also, I thank the people who fed us on that cold day. There are were too many supporters to list, but I thank all of them for helping us homeless veterans. They made our Christmas come early this year.”