Mariia's “inspirational” design wins Easter card competition
published on 8 Apr 2025
A young schoolgirl from Glasgow has wowed judges with her entry to design an Easter card for The Salvation Army amid strong competition from other talented artists across central Scotland.
Mariia Lutsenko took the top prize in the challenge for her creative interpretation of the Easter story. The 11-year-old's design features eggs tumbling out of a basket, with each egg containing a different part of the final days of Christ’s life, including his crucifixion and subsequent resurrection. There is also an appearance from the traditional Easter Bunny.
Mariia’s winning design will now be on Easter cards sent out by The Salvation Army’s Central and Southern Scotland Division. Runners-up in the Easter card competition were Charlotte, aged seven, and Olive, also aged seven, who are both from Cumbernauld.
Mariia moved to Scotland from war-torn Ukraine with her mum and sister three years ago and is a regular at The Salvation Army community church in Anderston.
"I can’t believe I’ve won", said Mariia. "I’m so happy that my design has been picked as the best. I love painting and drawing pictures. It's probably my favourite thing to do.
“I attend the Sunday school at The Salvation Army and a kind woman named Holly told me about the Easter card competition. When we were asked to think about a design, I wanted to have the resurrection at the heart of it; you can see Jesus in the middle. I love the Easter Bunny, so I drew that as well. All the eggs are falling out of the bunny’s basket telling different parts of the Easter story.”
Children from Salvation Army community churches across Scotland were invited to submit designs Children’s worker Hannah Willis organised the activity and believed Mariia's picture captured the essence of Easter perfectly.
Hannah said: "We had so many fantastic drawings that it was very difficult to pick one to appear on the card – thank you to all the children that took part. We just loved the way Mariia illustrated Jesus's journey in such a unique and inspirational design and also building in some fun Easter images that are children’s favourites around the world.
"We had around 50 entries and the aim was to get kids thinking about the real meaning of Easter, so we were thrilled that so many took part.”
To support The Salvation Army at Easter and throughout the year visit www.salvationarmy.org.uk and click donate. The Salvation Army provides practical help for people without discrimination that is responsive to the realities of life in the communities served.
