April 24, 2011
White House Easter Egg Roll
The White House Easter Egg Roll will take place on Monday April 25th this year. The theme will be "Get Up and Go!" The First Lady, Mrs. Obama, says the activities will promote heath and wellness just like her "Lets Move!" program. President Obama will likely be at the Egg Roll and there will be lots of fun activities like sports, cooking stations, live music, story telling, and the traditional egg roll.
To participate in the Egg Roll you need to be 12 years or younger. Of course your family can come too, but only the young ones will get to be a part of the egg roll. To get tickets kids had to enter into a lottery. It's too late to enter for this year, but you can still try to get into next years by going to www.recreation.gov. The cool thing is that, if you do get tickets, they are free!
What is an Easter Egg Roll?
An Easter Egg roll is when kids roll hard boiled eggs down a hill. This was practiced in some European countries, such as England and Germany, where the rolling of the egg was supposed to represent the rolling of the stone from Jesus' tomb. It was first brought to Washington DC by First Lady Dolly Madison who organized an egg roll down the grass on Capitol Hill.
History of the White House Easter Egg Roll
The Easter Egg roll started with President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1878. Prior to that families and kids would go to Capitol Hill and roll eggs, but congress didn't like the mess. They actually passed an Act of Congress to stop people from rolling eggs! Fortunately President Hayes was more relaxed and decided to let kids roll eggs on his back lawn. Ever since families and kids have been enjoying the egg roll at the White House. It started the first few years with just a couple of kids, but today it's the largest event that is held at the White House each year and the only time of the year that tourists are allowed on the White House lawn.
Easter Egg Roll Poster
There also was a contest this year for posters made by kids for the Easter Egg Roll. Elementary kids in Maryland, Washington DC, and Virginia participated. The winners were selected by Mrs. Obama and can be seen at the White House web site.
Souvenirs
