According to Starbucks, fall is over and the holidays are here. On November 1st, the coffee chain released their iconic red holiday cups nationally. Being an avid Starbucks fan, I rushed to our local branch to get my hands on this year’s iteration of the holiday tradition.
This year’s version of the holiday cup deviates from past designs. The simple red-ombré cup is devoid of any of the holiday symbols that have appeared on past versions. According to the Starbucks Newsroom, the minimalist cup is an effort to promote a culture of “belonging, inclusion, and diversity” and “invite customers to create their own stories with [the] red cup.”
In my opinion, the design is clean and modern, and I applaud the effort to welcome and support people of all backgrounds. However, this sentiment is not universal. Certain Christian activist groups have started a loud fuss over the lack of overt symbolism on this year’s cup. Former evangelist Joshua Feuerstein sparked the controversy after posting a video to his Facebook page claiming that the corporation had “removed Christmas from their cups because they hate Jesus.” His outcry prompted the creation of the hashtag #MerryChristmasStarbucks and called on viewers to use the name “Merry Christmas” for their coffee orders in an effort to “trick” baristas into supporting the holiday. In response to Feuerstein’s hashtag, the hashtag #itsonlyacup has appeared in the twitterverse to publicly denounce the red cup controversy.
As far as I’m concerned, a red paper cup does not equate to religious persecution and this controversy entirely petty. Tina Varnes of Twitter says it best: