Decorating My Own Red Cup

The appearance of my Christmas coffee cup is important to me, so I took a handful of black markers down to Starbucks. I figured I’m artistic enough to decorate my own plain red cup.

Everything about this made-up controversy has bugged the F (for Frappuccino) out of me. So I started with writing the word grace on outside of the cup. Everybody needs a venti-sized portion of grace right about now. From the folks who are upset over the plain red cups to those who feel they need to tell everybody who is upset where to better focus their angst.

Christmas is going to arrive right on schedule. Around the globe, followers of Christ will use the season to worship and remember his miraculous arrival. While for millions of others, Christmas contains zero spiritual significance. Yes, this issue has been blown way out of proportion, but I think that red cups actually do matter. Because at the heart of this controversy is the subtle reminder that the true meaning of Christmas is slowly fading from the mainstream culture.

Many traditional Christmas symbols refer back to the birth of the Christ child. We’ve got the wise men, the shepherds, Mary and Joseph, and the baby in the manger. But there’s just not enough room on my cup for the whole cast of characters. So I decided to decorate my red cup with the symbols that have, over time, lost their religious connotations. 

Frist, I drew a candy cane. The candy cane dates back to Germany in 1670. Tradition holds that the Cologne Cathedral was hosting a living Nativity scene and the children’s choirmaster used candy to bribe his little cherubs to be quiet. He asked the local confectioner to add the hook to the candy in order to encourage the children to watch how the shepherds of the Nativity used their canes to direct the live animals. More importantly, the choirmaster instructed the children to consider how Jesus is the “Good Shepherd.”

Next I drew a wreath. Wreaths date back to ancient times but the folks of northern Europe were the first to associate them with winter. It was thought that wreaths brought a sense of hope into a home. When northern Europeans converted to Christianity, wreaths continued to decorate their homes during the winter season. With time, wreaths became distinctly Christian in their symbolism. Since their circular shape had no beginning or end, they served as a reminder of the “Eternal God” and a life without end offered to “whoever believes in the Son.” Evergreen wreaths (trees that survived the “death” of winter), symbolized both the immortality of God and the souls of men. Lastly, the light of a wreath represented Jesus, “the light of the world.”

Then I decided to deck my cup with some boughs of holly. From ancient times to the present, holly has religious connections. Ancient Romans believed holly could repel malice. They also thought that holly was sacred to the god, Saturn. Thus, during Saturnalia, the feast celebrated in his name at the end of December, holly could be found in abundance. Later Druid priests in Europe believed that holly attracted good spirits and offered protection against evil spirits. They often wore holly in their hair during religious rituals. Christians too have identified a wealth of symbolism in the form of holly. The sharpness of the leaves recalls the crown of thorns worn by Jesus and the red berries act as a reminder of the drops of blood that were shed for salvation. Since holly maintains its bright colors during the Christmas season, it naturally came to be associated with the Christian holiday.

Many other Christmas symbols such as bells, Christmas trees, doves, stars, poinsettias and jolly ol’ Saint Nick himself have traditions steeped in Christian history. All of these were added to my very-festive red cup.

Lastly I decided to bring my cup into the 21^st century. Since Christian-bashing is about to replace baseball as the national pastime, I added a “HC” to my cup in honor of Hillary Clinton who said, “Christians need to change what they believe”. The initials will serve as a reminder that how Christians are viewed in America is changing for the worse. Therefore, our lives, words, and actions need to be full of love, grace, integrity, truth, and justice. We need to be examples of Christ, not people who prevent others from knowing Jesus by doing stupid-crazy things … like complaining about oh, I don’t know, a coffee cup. Plus, if you can love Hilary, you can love anybody.

Speaking of terrorism, I added 30 little crosses to my cup to not only honor those Egyptian Christians beheaded by ISIS earlier this year, but all Christians around the world currently undergoing persecution for their faith. Additionally, I drew several hearts to represent the Christians killed in the mass shootings in Oregon and South Carolina.

My red cup was nearly complete. There was just enough room for one more word:

Hope.

As in the “thrill of hope” from my favorite Christmas carol, O’ Holy Night.

Hope for a weary world, a broken world, a troubled world. Hope for hearts that use the symbols of the Christmas season to draw deeper into their worship of God and his Son, given for all mankind.

Because, remember, it was hope that the old-timers in Europe saw in their wreath-clad doors.

Which reminds me, I need to retrieve my Thanksgiving and Christmas wreaths from the garage. Although, I could make a new wreath. Perhaps one made out of red Starbucks cups.