Starbucks is getting in the holiday spirit with its red cups, but that’s not enough for people who are paranoid that corporations are taking Christ out of Christmas. The secular one-holiday-cup-fits-all red Starbucks cup doesn’t say Merry Christmas on it. (It doesn’t say Happy Holidays, either.) The cup is just red, which has customers like Josh Feuerstein seeing red. Feuerstein came up with a clever — if annoying to baristas — way to get the allegedly soulless corporation to say Merry Christmas to him anyway.
When the barista asks for his name, Feuerstein says his name is “Merry Christmas.” Baristas write customers’ names on the cups to keep their beverages straight — and to make them feel personalized and special (that’s part of the branding). They sometimes even shout the name out. So Feuerstein forces Starbucks employees to write “Merry Christmas” on his cup — and often say it to him aloud. Here’s his very satisfied video on Facebook. If there’s a “War on Christmas,” as Feuerstein and others believe, then it needs to be fought in tiny skirmishes across the land. Even a Starbucks barista must be deputized, if Feuerstein has his way. (Note: Starbucks does offer Merry Christmas gift cards.)