December is when the official holiday season begins. Christmas lights appear as soon as Thanksgiving ends, Christmas tree farms pop up out of nowhere and marketing campaigns galore are shoved into our brains through posters and TV commercials. One of the biggest debates of this time period is the old "Happy Holidays v. Merry Christmas" political-correctness. Being someone who has never celebrated Christmas in my life, I am never offended if someone says Merry Christmas to me. It shows effort at all that they are wishing me well during the holiday season and I think it is ridiculous that so much time has been put into this argument. The following three companies made statements this holiday season, whether on purpose or not, and received some backlash.

1. Starbucks and the Red Cup

For years, Starbucks has been making the designs on their cups increasingly secular. This year, the company decided to forego holiday adornment at all and just released an ombre-red cup. For many in America, this action was received as anti-Christian and a statement about the meaning of the holiday season.

2. Dunkin' Donuts and the Festive Cup

Mere days after Starbucks released their iconic, albeit newly designed cup, Dunkin' Donuts came out with their holiday cups that may have inadvertently fired shots at their competitor. Unlike Starbucks completely secular cup, Dunkin' went with a more traditionally themed design with the word "Joy" surrounded by a wreath and snowflakes. Reports state that there was no way this cup could have been designed in response to Starbucks due to the time crunch between the releases, but the timing is superbly ironic.

3. Reese's Christmas Tree Peanut Butter Cups

Reese's have been marketing these shapely treats since 2013, but complaints started rolling in this year due to their lack of, well, shape. They are supposed to look like Christmas trees but clearly the molds don't hold their shape. Its gotten some people up in arms and caused the company to respond by saying "all trees are beautiful."

I don't know about you all, but I say screw it. Merry Christmas, happy holidays, snowflakes, joy, say whatever you want. This is supposed to be a time of happiness and good cheer so stop being Scrooges by bringing all the political-correctness to the most wonderful time of the year.