Everyone mistakes Starbucks green cups as holiday cups… outrage ensues
Christmas comes bundled with many cultural traditions. Gifts under the tree. A delicious roast. Goodwill to all. Internet outrage over the color of the Starbucks holiday themed cups…
Okay, this may only be the second year this has come to the forefront again, but this is quickly looking like something we’ll all have to deal with every year. However, unlike last year, there is an extra layer of confusion surrounding the controversial paper cups… the green cups Starbucks released in November 2016 are not even their holiday cups.
This time last year we reported on the many baseless claims that Starbucks were engaging in “Christian cleansing” because their seasonal cups featured a plain red design. The claims were essentially nonsense, namely because their cups have never featured overtly religious designs, and Starbucks clearly did celebrate Christmas in many different ways.
This year, uproar has ensued once again when Starbucks announced a limited edition cup design which was… shock, horror… green! The design featured a pretty neat sketch by artist Shogo Ota featuring various faces penned with a single pen stroke. Starbucks have said the design is a “symbol of unity” to encourage people to be good to one another. A timely design considering the US is at the time enduring a particularly bitter and divisive presidential election.
From Starbucks –
Starting [1 November 2016], Starbucks stores in the U.S. will feature a green cup that represents the connections we have as a community. It’s meant to be a symbol of unity, and to encourage us to be good to each other. Artist Shogo Ota’s design represents humanity and connection, serving as a symbol for bringing people together as a united community.
Rumours and angry assertions followed, especially on Twitter, accusing the coffee chain of once again engaging in “Christian cleansing” and trying to “wipe the Christ out of Christmas“.
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However this year the accusations are even more groundless than they were in 2015, because according to most reports, the cups are not the Starbucks holiday cups at all, and Starbucks have never even claimed that they were. Starbucks have stated their holiday plans are still “under wraps” but according to sneaky staff in various Starbucks chains, the actual holiday cups have arrived in plain brown boxes adorned with stickers instructing “no peeking” until November 10th, when presumably the new holiday cups will be revealed to all.
And according to one unverified report, someone did peek…
So maybe the Starbucks festive cups will be red. But this is unlikely to ebb much of the social media anger about the color of a paper cup.
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, everyone…
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