With the arrival of the holiday season comes the inevitable arrival of hearing everyone everywhere groan about Christmas music being played in department stores. Cue the rebuttal of Christians trying to push the holiday upon people who do not share the faith.
This year, a new controversy has arrived, as Americans have integrated the clever use of hashtags to start the #MerryChristmasStarbucks campaign. Basically, as explained further in this article in The Huffington Post, Christians are angry with Starbucks this year because of the absence of the usual snowflakes on the red holiday cups. One woman actually published a statement saying that the absence of snowflakes on the cups "denies the hope of Jesus." Well, my Jewish roommate wants it to be known that "the absence of blue dreidels on the cups denies the miracle of Hanukkah." If you want to make a fuss about the absence of religious symbolism on the cup, then you need an optional design for every religion. This year, the cup is a simple red ombré that Jeffrey Fields, the vice president of design of Starbucks paraphernalia, said was meant to embrace "the simplicity and the quietness of the holiday season." I am not exactly sure what that means, but I am also not in charge of designing Starbucks cups, so okay, Jeffrey Fields, I accept your answer and the origin of your creative juices.
Starbucks isn't new to receiving backlash from the Christian community. In 2012, the company adopted a corporate-wide position that the definition of marriage involving one man and one woman should be thrown away. DumpStarbucks.com is still existent on the Internet, where anyone who is offended by this statement can sign a petition against Starbucks to register his or her protest. Well, my fellow Christians, if you're so offended, then stop associating yourself with the company. I consider myself to be a devout Catholic, but if you are really going to make a big fuss about this, then you need to remember that you live in the melting pot with no official religion of the nation. Starbucks is not a Christian company; they do not need to please you.
In no way am I saying that the meaning of Christmas should be forgotten. I know that Christians will read this and be quick to jump to that conclusion, but hear me out, because as a member of your community, I am trying to help you all. In fact, I tend to roll my eyes when people forget that the meaning of Christmas is not all of the tinsel and lights, but the birth of the Savior. If you're opening your Advent calendar during the holiday season and eating the piece of chocolate without reflecting upon the meaning of the calendar, then you're doing it wrong. If you are out in public making statements to the press about how the design of the Starbucks cup is oppressing your religious beliefs, then you are also doing it wrong. Because let's be honest with ourselves for a minute, my fellow community of Christians. If another major religious group had made the same opposition about a major public company not highlighting their religious holiday enough, would we even bat an eye? We wouldn't. So why should we expect others to care about the absence of a snowflake? (By the way, it is just a snowflake. There was no religious symbolism. You're reminding me of my English teachers from high school.)
Draw some snowflakes on your cup with a white marker and call it a day. Jesus will appreciate it just as much.
