While there was a resounding squeal of joy as Starbucks's red cups returned to mark the beginning of the holiday season, there was also some disappointment — and even outrage — over the new design. As you can see above, this year's red cups are more minimalist than ever. In the past, cups have had designs of snowflakes, ornaments, sleds, and more [1], and for some people, the absence of any Christmas-related design translates as the absence of religion.
In what has become known as the #MerryChristmasStarbucks [2] movement, people have taken to social media to voice their opinions about how the new cups are anti-Christian. A former pastor named Joshua Feuerstein, who now appears to be a social media star, made a viral video [3] with over 460,000 shares that says, "Starbucks removed Christmas from their cups because they hate Jesus." He's advising customers to tell the Starbucks barista that their name is Merry Christmas so the company is forced to include the words on the cup.
According to Starbucks [4], the simple red design is meant to "embrace the simplicity and quietness" of the holiday season, and it acts as a "blank canvas" that allows "customers to tell their Christmas stories in their own way."
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