Starbucks has just released their holiday cup designs in time for the Christmas season but the Christian community is crying foul.
A number of Christians protested on social media against the new Starbucks holiday cups. According to them, the cup design is lacking the Christmas spirit as it is without any popular Christmas symbol and Jesus Christ, reported TIME.
This year, Starbucks opted for a minimalist design with a plain red body with only the company's logo seen in the middle of the cup. There are no snowflakes or any other holiday ornaments that would get consumers in the holiday spirit.
According to Inquisitr, evangelist Joshua Feuerstein took to Facebook to express his dismay over the lack of Christmas spirit in the Starbucks cup design. Feuerstein said in his post, "Starbucks REMOVED CHRISTMAS from their cups because they hate Jesus." The FB post has already gone viral with more than 10 million page views.
In the same post, the evangelist urged consumers to use "Merry Christmas" as their names when ordering a drink or two at Starbucks just so the baristas would be forced to say the phrase every time. Many who read the post did as suggested and soon after the hashtag "MERRYCHRISTMASSTARBUCKS" started trending. People on Instagram posted pictures of their drink for the day with the name "Merry Christmas" written along the cup.
When asked about this year's design, Jerry Fields, Starbucks vice president of design and content, justified his output. The VP said what he wanted was for the consumers to make their own holiday stories.
Some Starbucks supporters have also voiced their reaction to the controversry being dubbed as the "War on Christmas." Many believe that the company is not against Jesus Christ and Christmas as a whole. In fact, Advent calendars and Christmas ornaments are still being sold at the store and website.
It would not be the first time that Starbucks has been in the limelight for controversies which are religious in nature. In 2013, Forbes mentioned how the company's president, Howard Schultz openly told shareholders who are anti-gay marriage to sell their shares in the company. It should be noted that this statement by Starbucks CEO was not taken lightly by many Christians either.
Meanwhile, a report earlier this year revealed that Starbucks has funded "Planned Parenthood," a non-profit organization which provides discreet services like abortion. Like many other controversial and sensitive issues, the birth control plan never sits well with the religious.
