Starbucks isn’t Satan

While I’m proud of my ability to ignore the ever numerous pop-culture conversations and debates, it was rather hard to miss the latest Starbucks fiasco. These things tend to make me roll my eyes before turning back to homework or conversations with actual meaning; however, I couldn’t overlook the many posts and comments on social media, and I decided to jump on the bandwagon with a few thoughts.

Now if you’re lucky, you’re completely oblivious to Starbucks apparent “war on Christmas”. Their main weapon? A simplistic red and green cup. It has much of the Christian community in an uproar, and many individuals are participating in counter attacks like #MerryChristmasStarbucks, which encourages individuals to use “Merry Christmas” instead of their name. In theory, this would require a barista to write “Merry Christmas” on the cup and vocalize the greeting. This would somehow right the sins of a simple coffee cup…

Obviously not the seasonal cups, but I was struggling to find something open domain… #poorbloggerproblems

If you’re like me, you’re wondering what this outrage is actually all about. Why is a simple Christmas theme–which is quite clever considering the franchises’ green logo–such a sin? In short, the lack of snowflake and Christmas tree doodles on a paper cup is apparently a subliminal cry of “I hate Jesus”.

To be honest, I don’t really see the logic. A red and green cup is no less religious than a Christmas tree or snowflake. Besides, the Christian community has been attempting to separate the simplistic nature of Christmas from the hyped-up commercialized holiday season. Shouldn’t this be a good thing?

The whole debate aside, aren’t there more important things for Christians to cry in outrage about? Perhaps world hunger and rape culture…? It makes more sense to rally in anger about human trafficking than a paper cup that will likely end up in a recycling bin….

Actually, the Christian community may find it more Christlike to channel their efforts into sharing the love of Christ. After all, the Gospel–the good news about Christ’s birth– is the true reason for the season. Christ’s birth is so much more than coffee cups, right?

In case you couldn’t hear me over the thousands of screaming individuals who need to validate their relationship with God by insisting that their coffee cups have snowmen (I’m still not seeing the religious connection), the answer is yes. Christmas is about proclaiming the good news of Christ’s birth, and through this, His gift to the world: forgiveness. Christmas is about the state of one’s soul, not the decorations or lack there of on Starbucks’ seasonal cups.

With these things in mind, perhaps everyone should remember that Starbucks isn’t Satan– if you want a more festive Starbucks cup, bring your own sharpie.