Starbucks unveiled their annual holiday cup a couple of weeks ago. The iconic Christmas cup has previously featured several winter-themed designs since it first appeared in 1997. From snowflakes and hand-drawn reindeer to a snowman and decorative ornaments, each year the design is distinctive and different from the last. However, this  year’s cup  is a two-toned red cup with no designs on it. Starbucks  vice president Jeffrey Fields said that the company “wanted to usher in the holidays with a purity of design that welcomes all of our stories.” This did not go over so well as people took to Twitter expressing their rage toward Starbucks. Some Christians are  encouraging a boycott of Starbucks because they claim that the company hates Christmas and is too scared to symbolize the religious holiday. Joshua Feuerstein, an ex-pastor and self-proclaimed “social media figure,” posted a viral video to Facebook suggesting that instead of boycotting Starbucks, say your name is “Merry Christmas” so the baristas have to write it on your cup. In the video he states, “Do you realize Starbucks wanted to take Christ and Christmas off of their brand new cups? That’s why they’re just plain red. In fact, do you realize that Starbucks isn’t allowed to say Merry Christmas to customers?”  This caught on, and the hashtag #MerryChristmasStarbucks trended on Twitter and Instagram.

Many mainstream media outlets have reported on this alleged “war on Christmas,” and many T.V personalities such as “The View” co-host Candace Bure says the debacle is an unnecessary distraction from the Christmas season. Comedians have also joined in on the conversation like Ellen DeGeneres, Trevor Noah, and Stephen Colbert. DeGeneres joked about the uproar and the rumored “war on Christmas,” when she held up the Starbucks holiday cup on her show.”People are mad about this cup because they are saying Starbucks is being ‘anti-Christmas,'” she said. “The old cups had snowflakes and Santa’s sleigh and elves, you know — all the things you find in the Bible.” Stephen Colbert pointed out that Starbucks has many other Christmas-themed merchandise.“I can see why people might be all frothed up about this,” he said on the “Late Show” Wednesday night. “Now Starbucks is completely devoid of any trace of the holiday besides the Christmas tree ornaments, advent calendars, CDs of Christmas music, Christmas-themed gift cards, Christmas cookies, and giant displays of their Christmas Blend coffee.” Even Donald Trump weighed in, stating that people should boycott Starbucks.

“Creating a culture of belonging, inclusion and diversity is one of the core values of Starbucks, and each year during the holidays the company aims to bring customers an experience that inspires the spirit of the season … Starbucks will continue to embrace and welcome customers from all backgrounds and religions in our stores around the world,”  stated a Starbucks spokesperson.