New Starbucks holiday cup spreads more than joy

By ALEX SPENCE

Now that Halloween has passed, the Christmas frenzy has begun. Starting on Nov. 1, stores broke out candy canes and stockings and every other TV commercial reminds us that the “25 Days of Christmas” special is quickly approaching.

Everywhere we turn from now until Dec. 26 all we will see is Frosty, Rudolph and loads of holiday spirit. But a new controversy has arisen this year that has allowed some individuals to lose theirs.

Each year Starbucks spreads the holiday joy by decorating their coffee cups with seasonal decorations. In the past, the cups have displayed scenes such as snowflakes, Christmas tree  ornaments or characters such as snowmen and reindeer.

However, this year Starbucks shook things up and chose a simple red cup to celebrate. “In the past, we have told stories with our holiday cups’ design,” said Starbucks vice president of design and content Jeffery Fields on the company’s website. “This year we wanted to usher in the holidays with a purity of design that welcomes all of our stories.”

This change has caused uproar on social media sites. Joshua Feurstein, an evangelist from Arizona recently posted a video calling out the coffee franchise for allegedly removing Christmas from their seasonal cups.

“Do you realize that Starbucks wanted to take Christ and Christmas off of their brand new cups? That’s why they’re just plain red,” Feurstein said.

After this video was posted, many more joined in voicing their dislike for the new design,or lack thereof. Twitter got especially heated with hashtags such as #MerryChristmasStarbucks and #BoycottStarbucks beginning to trend.

First of all, I do not believe Starbucks has ever promoted any specific religious holidays. By placing a snowman or reindeer on a coffee cup they are not exactly promoting Christianity, but simply holiday spirit.

I think it would be fair to say that individuals who have religious beliefs outside of Christianity might also enjoy building snowmen or watching “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.” As a Christian myself, I do not quite understand why it is so detrimental to Christmas that Frosty is missing from my coffee cup. Can we not just as easily say Merry Christmas to one another rather than let our coffee cups do the talking?

I for one find it perfectly dignified that they wish to respect all religions. So Starbucks stopped portraying designs associated with Christmas, so what? If, as a Christian, that detracts from your holiday spirit, perhaps you should reevaluate what the holiday really means to you. While many people were busy skewering Starbucks for their lack of Christmas association, they seem to have missed one little detail, the 2015 release of the Christmas coffee blend.

And hold onto your hats everyone, if the red coffee cups offended you just wait until you see the color of the Christmas blend. That’s right, it is also red.

But never mind that Starbucks printed the word Christmas in bold on the front of their coffee blends, it is still the lack luster cups that turned many into Scrooge. Musician Michael Castro recently went to twitter about the controversy, saying, “As a Christian I can tell you that the color of Starbucks cups have nothing to do with Jesus, the gospel or Christianity. They are cups.”

While I commend Feurstein for his passion and dedication to God, perhaps attacking the color red was not the best way to promote Christmas. As both a Christian and an avid coffee drinker I am not planning on dropping my Caramel Lattes just yet.

You never know, even Jesus might have enjoyed a Peppermint Mocha or two.