First published through The Paris News on Nov. 14, 2016. The article can be found on their website at http://theparisnews.com/opinion/article_27b79bca-aa91-11e6-88de-bb583932e466.html and was backdated.

If you say ‘it looks and feels like Christmas,’ it’s only because the Starbucks holiday cups are finally back. 

It’s the wonderful time of year when we hear about what everyone has planned for the holiday season, whether it’s to go visit family, go on vacation, or just stay home. My favorite part of the holidays is that Starbucks has officially released their new holiday cups. They look amazing.

Before the holiday themed cups were introduced, Starbucks used a friendly cup which had a mosaic of more than a hundred people drawn in one continuous stroke. They say these cups were meant to celebrate community. However, a few people disagreed with the use of these cups, all because of misconception. A few assumed these cups were the coffee chains’ holiday cups for this season. Many complained they hated the idea of this idea as the holiday cups.

The cups showed community, and the people didn’t like the idea they were going to be used as Christmas cups because they didn’t express the Christmas spirit. However, coming together as a family for Christmas is showing Christmas spirit.

According to the Associated Press, Starbucks asked their latte-sipping customers to design the new holiday cups. More than 1,200 ideas later, through Instagram they settled on 13 different designs. The holiday themes people submitted ranged from snow flakes to reindeer.

Last year, an uproar of people, in protest against the holiday cups, were saying things like “They took Jesus out of Christmas.” It looks like it’s happening again.

In Starbucks’ defense, they are a multi-billion dollar company and listed as a Fortune 500 company and should stay unbiased.

On Nov. 10, when they released their new holiday themed cups, Starbucks’ stock opened at 54.58 but closed at 53.58, exactly a dollar under. I’m not going to say it’s because of the new holiday cups, but it’s a coincidence. The stocks also went down the day they announced the mosaic of people on their cups.

Someone said in a tweet to Starbucks to stop pushing their liberal beliefs. I don’t see Starbucks pushing their beliefs on others, I see a company who wants to liven up the holiday spirit with fancy coffee cups.

Another person said, “As a follower of Christ, I will be getting a gingerbread latte just as much.” I agree with this guy. I don’t usually go to Starbucks myself, but I kind of want one of their holiday cups because they look uniquely awesome.

Christmas isn’t about the cup you drink your Christmas Cookie Latte with two shots of espresso out of – Christmas is about spending time with your family, friends and coming together.