Walmart has been forced into a Yuletide apology, after its Canadian website listed a Christmas sweater that showed Santa enjoying several lines of cocaine.

The adults-only line of sweaters depicted a particularly jolly Saint Nick lounging behind a table replete with three lines of an unknown white substance.

Below the illustration featured three words: “Let It Snow”.

However, savvy social media users quickly cottoned on to the less-than-innocent connotations behind the sweater’s design.

https://twitter.com/HurrbaSousJohn/status/1203353309396029440

Produced by third-party company FUN Wear, the sweater’s description reads: “We all know how snow works. It’s white, powdery and the best snow comes straight from South America.

“That’s why Santa really likes to savour the moment when he get his hands on some quality, grade A Colombian snow.”

The US retail giant removed the offending sweaters from circulation almost immediately amid snowballing customer complaints.

“We have removed these products from our marketplace. We apologise for any unintended offence this may have caused,” Walmart said in a statement.

However, that’s not where Walmart’s woes end.

Colombia’s National Agency for the Legal Defense of the State took particular umbrage, requesting the retailer pay damages for allowing the Colombia-cocaine insinuation.

If it does not comply, the country will kickstart the process for a costly lawsuit next week.

“The Walmart sweater is an offence to the country … although they apologised, the damage was done,” agency director Camilo Gómez Alzate told El Tiempo.

Whatever happened to the good old-fashioned, innocent daggy Christmas sweater?