early
Explanation
This is a concise single-panel joke set in what appears to be ancient Bethlehem or a similar biblical-era Middle Eastern setting.
Two figures -- who appear to be Joseph and Mary (or perhaps just generic biblical-era people) -- are standing near a Christmas tree decorated with ornaments, surrounded by holiday shopping. One says: "They're already stocking Christmas stuff! Jesus hasn't even been born yet!" The other responds simply: "Consumerism."
The caption reads: "Holiday shopping before the year 0."
The joke operates on a simple but effective premise: the universal complaint about Christmas commercialization starting too early, taken to its logical absurd extreme. People today complain that stores put up Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving or even Halloween. This comic pushes that complaint all the way back to before Christ was even born -- the ultimate "too early" for Christmas shopping.
The additional layer of humor is that the characters are complaining about the commercialization of a holiday celebrating an event that hasn't happened yet, which is both a time-paradox joke and a commentary on how Christmas commerce has become completely detached from its religious origins. The flat, deadpan "Consumerism" response mirrors the resigned tone people use today when noting the same phenomenon.