Karachi bakery draws ire for refusing to write Merry Christmas on cake

KARACHI – A bakery in the country’s largest metropolis has sparked a controversy on social media for refusing to write Merry Christmas on cakes ahead of the annual Christian festival.

The intolerant incident was shared by a social media user in the Voice of Customer group who narrated her ordeal. It reportedly occurred with her at the Khayaban-e-Jami branch of Karachi-based bakery.

Celestia Naseem Khan said she visited the Khayaban-e-Jami branch of Delizia to buy a cake and the worker refused to write ‘Merry Christmas’ on it. He maintained that he was not allowed to as he had been given an ‘order’ from the kitchen.

The post soon garnered a lot of attention as there was an uproar as netizens expressed their shock and anger.

Shameful discriminatory practices at bakeries in Karachi refusing to write Merry Christmas on cakes #Delizia and #AuntieMunaver's!! #boycottbakeriesthatdiscriminate #MerryChristmasPakistan

— Dr Sarah Nadeem (@SarahNadeemMD) December 22, 2021

Please explain.
Are Christians lesser Pakistanis that they cannot be served or are popular bakeries just for Muslims? It's just a cake!
It's clear discrimination & should be called out.

Delizia has made an excuse that they ran out of icing.
Nothing from Aunty Munaver yet. pic.twitter.com/cxpyOmWdKF

— Shamila Ghyas (@ShamilaGhyas) December 22, 2021

The outcry on social media also prompted the bakery’s management response which cleared the air. Bakery representatives said there is nothing wrong with wishing someone Merry Christmas and expressed their sorrow at the incident.

At the moment we are taking action against the concerned employee. It was done in an individual capacity and is not company policy. It may have been done due to lack of education and awareness that ‘Merry Christmas’ means wishing someone a happy Christmas, nothing else, the bakery management said.

Reports claimed that this is not the first such incident from the same confectioners as a similar incident was reported back in 2018. In the previous incident, a customer was denied a cake with ‘Merry Christmas’ written on it and told that ‘company instructions’ restricted them.