Student artists shine in Keep Christ in Christmas contest

One of the highlights of the annual Keep Christ in Christmas contest is the poster category – where students in three age divisions use their artistic talents to depict what they envision to be the real meaning of Christmas.

This year, the three poster winners were:

Abigail Melle, a third-grader from St. Rita School in Harahan (Grade 3-5 division);

Grace Bruza, a seventh-grader from St. Clement of Rome School in Metairie (Grade 6-8 division);

Gia Hartdegen, a sophomore from Archbishop Chapelle High School in Metairie (Grade 9-12 division).

The Clarion Herald asked each student artist to explain the meaning behind her poster.


Abigail Melle:
“I really like Christmas, so I kinda wanted to do a Christmas tree. Ornaments go with Christmas trees, so I was like, ‘How about we do a big ornament and then put baby Jesus on it in his little crib?’ I wanted to do it on a hill because it goes with the green. And, it’s a sunset because  sunsets are always beautiful. I wanted to put ‘Jesus is the reason for the season, not the presents’ because most young people think that presents are the whole reason for Christmas. But it’s actually not. It’s celebrating Jesus’ birth; that’s why we have Christmas.”



Grace Bruza:
“I told my dad about the project for Keep Christ in Christmas, and I was nervous because I didn’t really think I was good at it. My dad was like, ‘Well, with everything going on with the pandemic, maybe you could put some community things in.’ My dad works downtown, and he passes by the cathedral, and I thought that would be a good background. We went down there and everybody was all together. It gave me a better idea of what everything was like before. I made a lot of drafts. Christmas is not always about  the things that you get. Sometimes our job during the pandemic is to go down and help others. It’s helping each other and coming together.”


Gia Hartdegen:
“I really wanted to capture the love that three of them share with one another. I could show the mother’s love, but I also wanted to incorporate Joseph because I feel like he was very important. It was a love that three of them shared at such a young age – right after Jesus was born.  I thought that was very sweet and special. And then I incorporated  the holly leaves because I wanted to show just another part of Christmas. That was just something extra I did. I just like to do most things in pencil. I also feel sometimes it helps me to capture the emotion because there are lights and darks. I really love drawing, but I love Christmas, too. My faith is something very important to me, so I thought it was something that I could do to show all three of those things together. I entered the contest last year. My drawing was chosen as Chapelle’s Christmas card last year.”