Hallmark Cards Inc. has removed blue and silver gift wrap from circulation after a customer complained that she saw a swastika embedded in the design. The Kansas City, Missouri-based company alerted retailers to the problem Monday after receiving a complaint on Sunday night from a Walgreen's customer in Northridge, California. The disputed wrap was featured in a Hanukkah display but Hallmark spokeswoman Julie Elliott says the gift wrap wasn't intended for the Jewish holiday. Offensive: Cheryl Shapiro displays the Hanukkah gift wrap with a swastika-like pattern she found at Walgreens in Northridge, California before being recalled . The Kansas City Star reports the gift wrap was distributed by Walgreen's, which is no longer selling it. Elliott said in a news release that Hallmark didn't intend to offend anyone. She said it was an oversight that no one at Hallmark noticed that intersecting lines in the paper could be seen as a swastika pattern. 'We apologize for the oversight and apologize to anyone who was offended. That obviously was not our intent,' said Hallmark spokeswoman Julie Elliott. 'It was an oversight on our part to not notice the intersecting lines that could be seen as a swastika pattern.' Elliott told The Kansas City Star that the gift wrap was  based on a design in the Hallmark archives that itself was inspired by an old Chinese vase. In some cultures, the interlocking lines were a symbol of good luck and prosperity. The Nazi's later adopted the pattern and that's when the design grew a stigma attached to it. Other companies such as Zara have faced criticism for using 'anti-Semitic' symbols. Zara has been accused of using lined designs that mimic a swastika. They were also criticized earlier this year for selling a t-shirt with a gold star on it that resembled stars on shirts that Jews were made to wear in Nazi Germany. Pulled: This is an example of the 'swastika like' pattern used on gift wrap that Hallmark removed from circulation after fielding complaints from customers .
Hallmark Cards Inc. has removed blue and silver gift wrap from circulation after a customer complained that she saw a swastika in the design .
The disputed wrap was featured in a Hanukkah display but the gift wrap wasn't intended for the Jewish holiday .
In some cultures, the interlocking lines were a symbol of good luck and prosperity .
Hallmark Cards Inc. has removed blue and silver gift wrap from circulation after a customer complained that she saw a swastika embedded in the design. The Kansas City, Missouri-based company alerted retailers to the problem Monday after receiving a complaint on Sunday night from a Walgreen's customer in Northridge, California. The disputed wrap was featured in a Hanukkah display but Hallmark spokeswoman Julie Elliott says the gift wrap wasn't intended for the Jewish holiday. Offensive: Cheryl Shapiro displays the Hanukkah gift wrap with a swastika-like pattern she found at Walgreens in Northridge, California before being recalled . The Kansas City Star reports the gift wrap was distributed by Walgreen's, which is no longer selling it. Elliott said in a news release that Hallmark didn't intend to offend anyone. She said it was an oversight that no one at Hallmark noticed that intersecting lines in the paper could be seen as a swastika pattern. 'We apologize for the oversight and apologize to anyone who was offended. That obviously was not our intent,' said Hallmark spokeswoman Julie Elliott. 'It was an oversight on our part to not notice the intersecting lines that could be seen as a swastika pattern.' Elliott told The Kansas City Star that the gift wrap was  based on a design in the Hallmark archives that itself was inspired by an old Chinese vase. In some cultures, the interlocking lines were a symbol of good luck and prosperity. The Nazi's later adopted the pattern and that's when the design grew a stigma attached to it. Other companies such as Zara have faced criticism for using 'anti-Semitic' symbols. Zara has been accused of using lined designs that mimic a swastika. They were also criticized earlier this year for selling a t-shirt with a gold star on it that resembled stars on shirts that Jews were made to wear in Nazi Germany. Pulled: This is an example of the 'swastika like' pattern used on gift wrap that Hallmark removed from circulation after fielding complaints from customers .
Hallmark Cards Inc. has removed blue and silver gift wrap from circulation after a customer complained that she saw a swastika embedded in The disputed wrap was featured in a Hanukkah says the gift wrap wasn't intended for the Jewish an old Chinese vase. In some cultures, the interlocking lines were a symbol of good luck and