The Tradition of the Red Cup

A Holiday Tradition
I had a conversation the other day with several friends about traditions and rituals that happen during the holiday season. One of these rituals was that of the starbucks cup. My friend explained that she had several “friends” who take part in the yearly ritual of Starbuck’s “switching of the cup”. This ritual, for them, involved getting up early and going to Starbucks on a particular day in order to be the first customers to receive the holiday inspired red cups (apparently this day is November 10th FYI). While I personally had noticed the different cups during this season, I had not really given much thought to when this change takes place. I was baffled by the idea that there are those who actually plan their days around being one of the first ones to get these cups. When doing some further research on this ritual I found this quote from the president of Starbucks:

"The holidays at Starbucks are all about enjoying traditions and connecting with friends and family," said Jim Alling, president of Starbucks North America. "For our customers, that means gathering at their local Starbucks coffeehouse to connect over a hot cup of Starbucks(R) Christmas Blend coffee in our signature red cups to savor the warmth, magic and reprieve that are found there during the holidays."

Of course when he mentioned the word “tradition” I perked up and then decided to share this tradition in my blog entry this week. Has Starbucks itself become a tradition?! If the “switching of the cup” is a ritual, it is a ritual within the tradition enjoyed by Starbucks customers involving the gathering at local coffeehouses and drinking the Coffee Christmas blend in a holiday inspired red cup. Is it a tradition?

What is Tradition?
Tradition is a very vague and a difficult word to define. Similar to the words “ritual”, “emotion” and “religion”, tradition is slippery in its definition. I think that one of the biggest issues surrounding its definition is that most scholars understand traditions as constantly changing. They are not static moments in time, rather they reflect changes within a particular culture/society/religion and often have the ability to adapt to these changes. This is often difficult to account for when seeking to define tradition. One of the most important elements in a tradition is the fact that it is grounded in history giving the tradition legitimacy in its practice. Paul Post writes about the tradition of Gregorian Chant music CD of the monks in Northern Spain and the growing popularity of their CD as international bestselling music. He writes that these “authentic” chants are really not that authentic, first of all this CD borrows traditional music sounds from old recordings from the 1970s and 80s, and secondly the term “Gregorian” has little to do with “Gregory” the name of which it has been associated with. He uses this as the prime example of what Hobsbawm labeled as “invented tradition” (Post, 39).

Hobsbawm defines an “invented tradition” as one which is a “set of practices, normally governed by overtly or tacitly accepted rules and of a ritual or symbolic nature, which seek to inculcate certain values and norms of behaviour by repetition, which automatically implies continuity with the past” (Hobsbawm, 1). He further explains that it is not custom or routine (3) but it is a “process of formalization and ritualization” (4). I like the idea of an invented tradition in this sense, however the term itself can be problematic within the study of religion. Using the word “invented” can conjure up ideas about fabrication and illegitimacy. Post reads Hobsbawm’s Invented tradition as a concept not a term. He seeks to reflect deeper upon this concept in order to get beyond the superficial issues of artificiality and manipulation which plague “invented traditions” (Post, 44-45). His paper thus lays out the different ways of approaching this concept, using a variety of studies and methods.

The Cup
I am not really sure how the cup fits into the readings this week except that it represents a tradition for some Starbucks customers. It amazes me how Starbucks was able to create this tradition and that it has caused quite a stir (for some people). I think that one of the reasons why it has become a tradition is through its connection to the tradition of Christmas. By giving it a history (through association with Christmas and the holiday season) and by extension all the feelings and emotions and activities which accompany the holidays, Starbucks was able to make the “switch to the red cup” a holiday tradition. It is in this way that Starbucks has “invented” tradition.