Hallmark has been forced to pull a line of wrapping paper from its US stores after rolls covered in swastika symbols were found to be on sale.

A Jewish grandmother, Cheryl Shapiro, was left outraged after finding the paper in the Hanukkah section of her local store in Northridge, California.

“I couldn’t believe my eyes, I had no idea what to do,” she told an NBC news team.

“I told them I wanted this taken off the shelves immediately. Not just in the store, but national. I was really putting my foot down because I was appalled by this,” Ms Shapiro added.

Hallmark confirmed that it has removed the wrapping paper from its stores all across the US. 

The company also said that the silver-and-blue wrapping paper was not intended to be sold specifically for the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, and that the regrettable pattern was modelled on a Chinese vase.

The swastika is used in some Eastern cultures as a good-luck symbol, but was infamously adopted by Hitler’s Nazi regime – and indelibly associated with the dictator’s attempts to eradicate the Jewish race. 

The first of the eight days of Hanukkah 2014 begins December 16th.

[H/T: Uproxx]