The Easter Egg Rolling on the White House Lawn

1906--

The Easter Egg Rolling on the White House Lawn

More than 20,000 children, varied in age and size and color, an aggregate of 100,000 brilliant-hued eggs and perhaps 30,000 adult male spectators -- these are the chief participants in the novel spectacle of the annual egg-rolling carnival which takes place every Easter Monday in the president's big back yard at Washington. There is no frolic anywhere in the United States, and probably none anywhere in the world, like this spring merrymaking on the 80-acre grounds of the presidential mansion.

The monster egg-rolling fete is a heritage which has been handed down from generation to generation of children at the national capital. Just when and how it originated no person seems to know, but tradition declares that this odd juvenile romp originated in a foreign custom, which was altered and elaborated in character after it was transplanted to the city on the Potomac. Years ago the annual egg rolling took place on the grassy slopes that fall away from the United States capitol building, but ere long the scene of the fun was shifted to the grounds of the executive mansion, at the other end of Pennsylvania avenue, and there has remained ever since. Indeed, the youngsters guard this privilege of playing in the president's yard once a year as a sacred right, and when, a few years ago, some official proposed that the custom be abolished there arose a wall of protest that shook the foundations of social and political Washington.

The egg is king of the carnival at the big gathering on the day following Easter, but this great "play time" is not devoted exclusively to the pastimes wherein the colored eggs are an all- important adjunct, for the president's lawn is open to all children, rich and poor alike, and many of the little visitors who have come unprovided with baskets filled with the fragile playthings spend the entire day skipping the rope, playing with dolls, sailing miniature boats in the great fountain basins or indulging in some other diversion dear to the childish heart, and for which exceptional facilities are afforded in the vast playground that is, under ordinary conditions, reserved exclusively for the use of the president's children.

However, as has been said, eggs decorated in many bright colors and employed in any one of a dozen ways constitute the favorite playthings for the occasion. The genuine "egg rolling" -- that is, the bowling of the eggs back and forth on the velvety lawn or down the gentle slopes in which the grounds abound -- has the preference over all other pastimes, particularly among the younger children. The older girls and boys manifest a special penchant for games of "toss and catch," which are likely to seriously deplete the stock of eggs, or for the sport known as egg "picking," which necessitates an even more prodigal use of the delicate souvenirs of the day.

"Picking." It may be explained consists of the striking of two eggs together, each held by a youthful champion confident of the solidity of his egg. The picking continues with gradually increasing force until the shell of one or the other is cracked. When the owner of the egg which has failed to stand the novel test must surrender the damaged egg to his victorious competitor, who goes on his way seeking new worlds to conquer.

--The Anaconda Standard, Anaconda, Montana, April 15, 1906, page 3 of editorial section.