So you may or may not know that it’s Diwali this week, the Hindu Festival of Lights.

Indian shops and restaurants are festooned with marigold garlands, and even the expat Aussie grocery store has a Diwali display:

But, of course, in good capitalist fashion, it’s almost the American Thanksgiving holiday, which means that it’s time to start thinking about… CHRISTMAS!

Of course, the Christmas tree is in a shop that’s staffed almost exclusively by Filipinos, who, I am told by a Filipino student, are famous for having the longest-running “Christmas season” in the world: it starts sometime in September and runs through January.

So start shopping now and beat the rush.