LOS ANGELES – Coffee giant Starbucks is stirring up debate after unveiling the design of its annual holiday cup, which is a symbol of Christmas for cult-like coffee lovers.
“It’s huge,” Starbucks employee Skyler Shelley told KCBS. “People who don't even go to Starbucks regularly come during the holidays because we have the red cups.”
But some customers are calling this year's design, or lack thereof, a disappointment.
One customer said the cup’s simplistic design didn’t give her that “Wow it's Christmas” feeling.
“I definitely think it could have been a little more happy and swirls or something on there,” the customer said.
In recent years, Starbucks has seemed to be using fewer holiday symbols in.
The plain design has some customers calling the cups part of a "War on Christmas.
"Eliminate CHRISTMAS because it may offend somebody...what about the people who are OFFENDED because they are not going to have it???” one Facebook user vented.
Another user on Twitter was also upset about the design.
"Hands up if your severely disappointed by the lack of Christmas spirit @Starbucks is showing with these lame red cups,” one Twitter user wrote.
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But there are others online who couldn't care less about the chain’s cup design.
“I don't know why someone has so much time on their hands they're worried about whether or not Starbucks corporate put Christmas items on a cup,” Lena Gurevich, a Starbucks customer said. “As long as the coffee tastes good, I don't care what cup it's in.”
Starbucks didn't respond to a request for comment but shows this on its website:
"This year we wanted to usher in the holidays with a purity of design that welcomes all of our stories."
So has Christmas come too early this year – or is it not being embraced enough? Sound off on the WTVR CBS 6 Facebook page.