Join the club. After all, it’s common knowledge that more people are depressed during the holidays than any other time of year. However, we’d like to help you by putting all of this melancholy in the proper perspective in the hopes that we might lift you up out of these seasonal doldrums.

First of all, consider some of the big stars, like George Strait and Rod Stewart. Sure, it feels as if you’ve known them forever, and that if you were to run into them on the street they’d greet you with a handshake or a high-five. But the truth is that big-name performers like Sting or Elton John don’t really hang with people like you. You see, they have their world while you have yours, and with the exception of the traditional stage-artist-audience arrangement, those worlds are light years apart.

That’s because they’re stars and you’re not. People like Norah Jones and Neil Diamond have money, fame and fortune while you have – lessee… how can we put this delicately? – absolutely none of that. Oh, sure, you may be the captain of your bowling team, or maybe you won a few bucks on the lottery last week, but that hardly compares to the glamorous world that counts Kylie Minogue and Harry Connick Jr. among its citizenry.

Then there’s all that gift giving. The big celebs, like Motley Crue or Cher, always give their friends diamonds, houses and expensive luxury automobiles during this time of year. Are you on their list? Hardly. Instead, the gifts you receive during the holidays always come from Wal-Mart, Target and Sears. It’s a known fact that the expense of the gift correlates to the amount of love the gifter feels for the giftee, and if all the stars truly loved you, you’d be up to your neck in expensive holiday presents. So don’t hold your breath waiting for a Lexus or Jaguar to magically appear in your driveway. Ain’t gonna happen.

What does it all mean? Simply put, people like John Fogerty and Ashlee Simpson, and bands like Green Day and The Moody Blues, are placed on this Earth to soak up the praise and adulation that only fans like you can give them. And you? You’re put here to buy their CDs, concert tickets and officially endorsed merchandise in order for them to live in a world apart from yours. You can’t have one without the other. After all, you don’t want to see a Keith Urban or Yanni asking you if you want fries with that, now do you?

So the next time you’re feeling down in the dumps during the holidays, remember that all of the big entertainers, like the Eagles and Hilary Duff, wouldn’t be where they are today without the unconditional love offered up to them from people like you. It’s fans like yourself that make it all happen for the R.E.M.s and Sarah McLachlans of the world. Sure it’s a tough job, but you’re the somebody who has to do it. And there’s no need to feel depressed when you’re doing what you were put here to do.

Well, that’s our message for today, and we hope these words of wisdom help get you through the next few days. We’ll check back on you come December 31, when we describe what all the big stars like Oasis and Barry Manilow are doing for New Year’s Eve while you’re sitting in front of the boob-tube watching Regis fill in for Dick Clark. Until then, keep your head up, and have a very merry Christmas.