Card Winner: Damian Anonick, age 17

Senior at De La Salle Collegiate High School, Warren, MI
Art Teacher: Mr. John Hicks

No Room at the Inn

“So Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem because he was of the house and family of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. While they were there, the time came for her to have her child…and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” — Luke 2:4-7

“Recognize Jesus beneath the poor rags of the children whom you have to instruct: adore him in them.” (Meditation 96.3)

The meditation above was penned by John Baptist de La Salle for the Feast of the Epiphany. It can be a startling statement but it is key to our Founder’s approach to ministry. Inspired by this insight, the theme for the contest to design our DENA Christmas card this year encouraged student artists in our Lasallian high schools and middle schools to create a contemporary image associated with the Christmas story.

From the Artist, Damian

When I was first told what this year’s theme was, I immediately thought of recent topics in the news. This led me to look at articles of families who had been separated due to their immigration status. The reason I brought this into my piece is, like the status of immigrants, Mary and Joseph were sent away everywhere they went and were separated from society to give birth to Jesus.

In my four years at De La Salle Collegiate High School, I have been very blessed to be part of a brotherhood of such great people and an excellent staff. I have been very involved in theatre, show choir, and tennis, but ultimately plan to go to college to expand my skills in both engineering and art. I have been grateful to have the opportunity to expand my creativity, doing works in many media, from traditional two and three dimensional studio arts to digital design. I am profoundly thankful to be recognized by DENA for my work. It is the first art award I have received so far in my career, and I am hopeful for more to come.

About the Contest

Our long standing art competition is known throughout the District. Now in its 10th year, the annual District Christmas Card contest had many entries from several schools. There were many strong entries for our contemporary take on “No Room at the Inn,” but we could only pick one piece of artwork. 38 entries in total, including middle school students this year from:

  • Calvert Hall College High School, Towson, MD
  • Christian Brothers Academy-Syracuse, DeWitt, NY
  • De La Salle College “Oaklands,” Toronto, Ontario
  • De La Salle Collegiate High School, Warren, MI
  • La Salle Academy, Philadelphia, PA
  • La Salle Academy, Providence, RI
  • St. John’s College High School, Washington, DC

We Thank Students for their Submissions!