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"Today we hope you learn, explore and grow by listening to a story, rolling some eggs, playing with circuit boards or building some robots," the first lady said in opening remarks. Participants include military and veteran families, caregivers and survivors, including those from the USS Delaware and the USS Gabrielle Giffords. More than 40,000 people — 10,000 more than last year — were expected to attend, attempting to coax hard-boiled eggs across the lawn to a finish line. This year’s theme was “EGG-ucation,” and led by Jill Biden, a teacher for more than 30 years.
A Well Established Tradition
From the roll's origins to today, we take a look at this Easter Monday tradition at the Executive Mansion. In total, approximately 40,000 people will take part in this year’s Easter “EGGucation” Roll, including thousands of military and veteran families, caregivers, and survivors. Tickets for the general public were distributed to guests from all across the country through an online public lottery. Since 1878, American presidents and their families have celebrated Easter Monday by hosting an 'egg roll' party. It has changed and evolved through the years, and each First Family has put their stamp on the popular event. In the 1870s, Capitol Hill had become a popular spot for children to roll eggs - and themselves - down the hill on Easter Monday.
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They had come to carry on a peculiar holiday tradition that had arisen in the nation’s capital during the 1800s in which young revelers rolled hard-boiled eggs down the hills of Washington, D.C., to see which ones traveled the farthest without breaking. And nowhere in the District of Columbia was the egg-rolling any finer than on Capitol Hill. As the attraction of the event grew, a rule was put in place to limit the number of people allowed on the South Lawn. The rule stated that a "grown person would be admitted only when accompanied by a child" and vice versa. As a result, unescorted egg rollers and childless adults began teaming up at random so that each could gain admittance. Enterprising children even charged a fee for parading a series of unrelated "grown persons" past the White House security guards.
President Hayes
Since 1981, the wooden eggs have been the official keepsake of the Egg Roll and offered for sale at the event, in the Association’s stores and online shop at shop.whitehousehistory.org. The demand to attend is so great that more than 35,000 tickets are distributed by a public lottery. 2016’s event featured a musical performance by Idina Menzel, cooking demonstrations by celebrity chefs, sports clinics, a yoga garden and the first-ever White House Fun Run. The Egg Roll was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the first cancellation since 1952.
All Hallows' Eve Haunts & Traditions
The coronavirus seemed like a distant concern despite numerous cases this month among members of the administration and Democrats on Capitol Hill. A number of aides who had tested positive in recent weeks were back in their offices. Some egg-rolling families who had been invited to the White House for breakfast were tested beforehand, though not everyone in attendance had been required to be tested, an official said. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy envisioned a restored White House that conveyed a sense of history through its decorative and fine arts.
The event was delayed because of the wet weather but children and parents began to arrive around 8 a.m. Ticketed guests invited through an online public lottery will come from all across the country. The Easter Bunny made his first appearance at the egg roll in 1969 when a member of first lady Pat Nixon’s staff donned a fleecy white costume, and he quickly proved a bigger star than the president in the eyes of some of the children.
The Schenz Theatrical Supply in Cincinnati provided the costumes for the event each year, but bunny costume designer John Schenz died in 2020, and the shop closed in 2022. "In a quick moment of fleeting and overwhelming trans joy, I decided to do something unbecoming of a guest of the president at the White House lawn celebration," she said. The individuals in the video won't be invited to future events, Jean-Pierre said. The incident drew backlash as inappropriate, including from conservative commentators like CJ Pearson who suggested online that it brought "shame" on the country.
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Jill Biden wants the White House's annual Easter Egg Roll to be about more than just coaxing hard-boiled eggs across the lawn to a finish line. The event dates to the presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes, who opened the White House lawn to children after they were kicked off the grounds of the U.S. A large schoolhouse erected on the South Lawn offered kids activities in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM — including making circuit-breakers or simulating a fossil dig. Youngsters also wrote notes to U.S. troops and first responders with Operation Gratitude, a nonprofit organization.
“The noise was so great that in the House and Senate Chambers it drowned all other sounds,” reported the St. Louis Globe-Democrat. The business of the country ground to a halt as congressmen exited the building to witness the commotion and, even worse to them, the ensuing destruction. The throng of frolicking children wore the grass completely bare and left the terrain more scrambled than scrambled eggs. Monday's egg roll will be the second hosted by President Joe Biden and the first lady. The event was not held in 2021, Mr. Biden's first year in office, because of the .
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President Biden and first lady Jill Biden attend the annual Easter egg roll on the South Lawn of the White House on April 10. The Bidens welcomed hundreds of LGBTQ families from across the country on Saturday to mark Pride month. The administration described the event as the largest-ever Pride celebration at the White House.
Pictures — which are producing and distributing the film, respectively — are both owned by CNN's parent company, Warner Bros. Guests who receive a confirmed tour reservation will be issued a White House Tour Pass ahead of their tour date containing pertinent health and safety guidance. If you are a citizen of a foreign country, please contact your embassy in Washington, D.C. To speak with a historian about the history of the White House Egg Roll or Official White House Easter Eggs, please contact They will include thousands of military families along with crew members and families of the U.S.S. Delaware. A lengthy list of costumed characters are also expected to make an appearance -- like Dr. Seuss's Cat in the Hat and the United States Department of Agriculture's Milkshake the Cow.
