History of the Easter Egg Hunt at the White House
Easter egg hunts and egg rolls have been a part of the Easter celebration in Washington D.C. since the 1800s. The first hunts hunts took place on the grounds of the United States Capitol, but were later moved to the White House lawn. The annual hunts are a cultural institution.
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History
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It's not certain what year children first got invited to roll easter eggs on the Capitol grounds. But in 1876, with budget concerns preventing completion of landscaping and maintenance of the grounds, Congress passed a law forbidding children to play on the Capitol lawn because of damage to the grass. In 1878, President Rutherford B Hayes gave children permission to do the egg rolling on the South lawn of the White House on the Monday following Easter.
Easter Egg Roll
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Unlike an Easter egg hunt, in which someone hides Easter eggs for children to search for, an Easter egg roll requires the children to roll Easter eggs along the ground with a long handled spoon. The egg rolling race at the White House began in 1977. The first Easter egg hunt at the White House was held in 1981.
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Executive Changes
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Richard Nixon (president from 1968 to 1974) started the tradition of opening Easter celebrations at the White House with the appearance of the Easter bunny. President Ronald Reagan (1981 to 1988) added autographed eggs to the hunt. President George H.W. Bush (1988 to 1991) and his wife Barbara were the first to have both the President's and First Lady's signatures on the souvenir eggs.
Participation
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The White House Easter egg hunt was originally open to all children in the Washington D.C. area. The event rapidly became so popular that the White House recognized the need to limit the number of children who get to participate. In 2010, children aged 12 and younger,and their families could enter a National on-line lottery. Tickets were given to 30,000 people who were allowed on the White House grounds for one of five 90-minute time slots. The White House used 14,500 colored and hard-boiled eggs during the 2010 Easter egg hunts and rolls.
Ticketing
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The Easter Egg Roll and Hunt are held the Monday after Easter. As of June 2010, applications for the lottery were supposed to be available at the website recreation.gov about six weeks prior to the next event.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit easter egg hunt image by robert mobley from Fotolia.com
