Starbucks: Red Cup Revolt

Courtesy of Snopes

Courtesy of Snopes

Lindsey Acquistapace '19, Staff Writer

Last year, the world went into a panic as Starbucks released their always awaited “Red Christmas Cup.” Reactions were all but positive when the public surmised that Starbucks was taking Christmas out of the picture when their Red Cup was just a simple red cup: there were no trees, no Santas, no gifts or bows, no stockings, no snow or snowmen, and no Christmas. Not only were they criticized for the ordinary nature of the cup, but for its early release on November third. Many argued that it was an arbitrary subject to argue over, yet still drew attention to it by making #merrychristmasstarbucks the number one trending topic on Twitter. One Twitter user wrote, “Starbucks red cup drama, really? Next we’ll offend when we celebrate birthdays.” Why did the world care so much about a cup? Maybe it was the lighthearted matter of the subject in a world full of dark news, maybe it was the thought of the Christmas season, or maybe people really cared about Starbucks “taking away Christmas.”

Many accused Starbucks of misrepresenting different religions, or rather not representing them at all. Historically Starbucks has only designed Christmas cups. Never has there been a cup with a dreidel or a menorah, despite the fact that there are over five million Jewish people in America alone who do not celebrate Christmas. Starbucks customers argued that the way to solve this problem was not by removing designs entirely. They claim that Starbucks cannot equivocate allegations of being an anti-semitic establishment by removing religious affiliation from the cup.

Some would say Starbucks has overcompensated for last year’s cup debacle by releasing not one, but ten red cups. In an attempt to avoid public outcry, Starbucks left the cup in the hands of its customers. Starbucks lovers around the world submitted doodles to have printed on the cups. The drawings varied from reindeer, to ornaments, to snowy trees. Needless to say, Starbucks put the Christmas back in the cup.