How the White House Easter Egg Roll became one of the oldest American traditions

Washingtonian families have spent the day on the South Lawn of the White House rolling and playing with their dyed Easter eggs since President Rutherford B. Hayes opened the gates to the Executive Mansion in 1878.

Since then, the affair has become one of the most high-profile events that takes place at the White House each year. In a 2017 interview with The New York Times, Melinda Bates, who organized eight years of Clinton-era Easter Egg Rolls said, "The White House and the first lady are judged on how well they put it on."

The Evening Star reported, "Driven out of the Capitol grounds, the children advanced on the White House grounds to-day and rolled eggs down the terraces back of the Mansion, and played among the shrubbery to their heart's content."

The Jefferson Mounds, landscaped by President Thomas Jefferson himself, add a gentle hill to the White House's South Lawn.

In fact, The Washington Post described the White House floors as "ground full of freshly smashed hard-boiled egg and broken egg shells," according to the White House Historical Association.

After Harrison's appearance, presidents regularly watched and joined in on the White House revelry.

In 1889, the United States Marine Band directed by John Philip Sousa played on the South Lawn, according to the White House Historical Association.

In 1918, the District of Columbia food administrator canceled the event due to the destruction of eggs, saying, "nothing that is an article of diet should be destroyed" during the war, according to the White House Historical Association.

Eisenhower's grandchildren even participated in the event until security had to extract the three children from the huge surrounding crowds.

The president's 2-year-old grandson Jason Carter even made an appearance on the South Lawn in 1977.

They also hid wooden eggs signed by celebrities around the grounds for children to find, a tradition that is still upheld today.

President Bush blew a whistle indicating the start of an egg roll competition that his 3-year-old granddaughter Marshall took part in.

A big fan of the Easter event, first lady Hillary Clinton never missed a single egg roll while her husband was in office and even had an official grandstand built for the occasion.

The entire Obama family, including Barack's mother-in-law, joined kids and their families on the White House lawn to read books, shoot some hoops, and take part in healthy cooking demonstrations.

In an attempt to open up the event to more people, the Obama administration established an online lottery for tickets. They also invited scores of celebrities including Idina Menzel and Christian Bale.

The Associated Press reported that 30,000 parents and children attended the White House Easter Egg Roll in 2018.

Melania Trump added inflatable bowling to the Easter Egg Roll in 2018.

The event also featured Easter-egg hopscotch.

In 2021, the Bidens appeared on the balcony of the White House with the Easter Bunny, who was also wearing a face mask.

"The virus is not gone, and the second year in a row most will be apart from their families or friends and a full congregation to fill us with so much joy. But the Scripture tells us, 'Joy cometh in the morning,'" Biden said in his remarks.

"We weren't able to host this Easter Egg Roll last year because of the pandemic. But this year, we're finally getting together again, and it's so special," Biden told the crowd. "It means so much to see and hear the children and all the families show up to be here today. The joy, the laughter, and the occasional — at least with my young grandson, who's only 2 — the occasional, 'There's the Easter Bunny.' A little startled sometimes. But the joy and the laughter is something that has been a wonderful tradition here at the White House for a long, long time."

Fallon read a copy of his children's book "Nana Loves You More!"

"Thank you Beau. Thank you for reading with Nana," the first lady said when she finished reading the book by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle.

Around 30,000 people attended the annual event, which was broken into nine sessions, according to a White House press release. Activities included the traditional egg roll as well as an egg hunt, a talent show, a photo booth with costumed characters, and a dinosaur activity tent.

The event featured educational activities, an obstacle course in a "physical EGGucation zone," and costumed characters such as Daniel Tiger, Winnie the Pooh, and SpongeBob SquarePants.