Red Cup Ridiculousness

For the past week, every time I would log into Facebook, I would see all of these images of Starbucks cups and all of this nonsense about how offensive they are toward Christian people. To be honest, I have read a few memes, some images, an article or two, and watched a CNN video, but I don’t really understand what the big deal is.

I didn’t really want to join in on the nonsense of the whole thing, but then I decided this would be a good opportunity to express my thoughts about Christmas and why not incorporate this red cup phenomenon.

My understanding is that some Christians are upset that Starbucks changed their cups from having designs on them to being plain red and somehow this change means Starbucks is against Christmas. Ummm what?!

I am a Christian and I believe that the point of Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. That’s it, nothing more and nothing less. The trees, the cute animals, the decorations, the presents, the red and green… that is all extra stuff that adds to the season of celebrating Christ, but that is not what Christmas is about.

So by Starbucks taking the ornaments, reindeer, and snowmen off of their cups is not an act against celebrating Christmas. Those images are winter images, they don’t define Christmas. There was never a baby Jesus or nativity scene or Merry Christmas on the cups, so why are so many so upset? Last time I checked, red was still a holiday color… it isn’t like they changed their cups to black, but even if they did, who cares? Starbucks does not define the season or the holiday.

In a CNN video that I watched, a man was upset, because Starbucks employees are not allowed to say Merry Christmas. This is not uncommon; many places including public schools, are not allowed to say that phrase. It has become Happy Holidays, but why does this have to destroy your season? They can’t ban YOU from saying anything, so why not just respond with Merry Christmas and a smile. You get to choose how you react to these changes.

Yes, 70% of people in America identify as Christians and our country was founded on Christian beliefs, but we also pride ourselves in allowing freedom of religion. People have the right not to celebrate Christmas and we cannot force them to, but we can still show love throughout the season and not let the actions of companies and other people ruin the example that Christ set. We celebrate the birth of Jesus, who was all about showing grace and love toward all people, including ourselves, who don’t deserve it, so why can we not show that same love and grace toward Starbucks employees and everyone else who disagrees with us?

I think this all comes down to what Christmas really means to you. Is your Christmas defined by the design of a coffee cup? Is your Christmas defined by the words someone uses to greet you? Or is your Christmas defined by an amazing savior’s birth?

❤ a girl