White House Easter Egg Rolls And Hunts

donna

Brev. Brig. Gen'l
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This year the 137th White House Easter Egg Roll will be held on April 6, 2015. The theme is "#GimmerFive". More than 35,000 people will gather on the South Lawn to join in the celebration. The event will feature sports and fitness zones, cooking demonstrations, and the Easter classics as the egg roll and egg hunt.

According to the History of the White House, the first rolls were family affairs. One very early one was held by President Andrew Johnson. Members of the President's family dyed eggs on Sunday for the Monday roll. Mrs. Johnson was an invalid and would watch the roll from the South Portico. The Johnson's daughter served as hostess. This story was attested to by the Johnson's grandson, Andrew Johnson Patterson, who lived at the White House with President and Mrs. Johnson.

Another early egg roll was during General Ulysses Grant's administration. At that time the majority of the egg rolling and a picnic took place at the Capitol.

On Easter Saturday 1876, an announcement was placed in the local press that the egg roll would be at the White House and no longer on the Capitol grounds. President Hayes and his wife Lucy opened the White House grounds for children to egg roll. This tradition has continued ever since. The only time it was cancelled was during World War I and World War II. However, during those war years, children were spotted egg rolling on the grounds of the Washington Monument, and the National Zoo. Some even came to the Capitol.

Early games at the rolls were "Egg Picking", "Egg Ball", "Toss and Catch", and "Egg Croquet". Presidents and First Ladies have always greeted the egg rollers as have other officials.

In recent years, each of the egg rollers receive a special presidential wooden egg with the signature of the President and First Lady.

See:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/easterEggRoll

and

http://clinton2.nara.gov/WH/glimpse/Easter/
 
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