Monday, April 21, 2025, the White House is hosting the annual Easter Egg Roll. 

This tradition started Easter Monday of 1878, during Rutherford B. Hayes’ Presidency.  Since then, the Easter Egg Roll on the White House lawn has been a reoccurring and treasured tradition, featured throughout the media and even in movies. 

Jeremy Bel, a senior at Brunswick High, says he knows about the Egg Roll because of its mention in the movie National Treasure.

Before Hayes, though, First Lady Dolly Madison, James Madison’s wife, is credited by some historians in proposing the idea of a White House Egg Roll.  There are also speculations that Abraham Lincoln hosted some Egg Rolls during his presidency.  In the early 1870s, the Egg Roll actually became illegal.  Local children had started the egg roll tradition on Capitol Hill during this time, causing the grounds to take visible damage from the event.  This caused Ulysses S. Grant to sign a bill banning the Egg Roll.  Only a couple years later, his successor Rutherford B. Hayes allowed the children to come back, this time to the South Lawn of the White House.

Eventually, the festivities grew more popular and became more established, with different presidents and first ladies adding in their own personal touches over the years.  From adding in the United States Marine band to making the egg rolling a race, many changes have occurred during the Egg Roll’s history, including in 1981 when they began to distribute collectable wooden eggs at the event.

First Ladies also typically influence the event more than the president, due to the fact that her job is White House hostess.  Most years it is typical for the president to make appearances, and sometimes they are joined by the rest of their families.  President Trump did this in 2019 when he appeared with First Lady Melania Trump.  One of the earliest instances of this occurring was in 1889, when Benjamin Harrison’s grandson made an appearance at the event.

Although it is a treasured and popular tradition, there were years when the Egg Roll was moved or canceled altogether.  In 1917, the Egg Roll was moved to the Washington Monument because of WWI.  From 1918 to 1920 the Egg Roll was canceled altogether, due to food conservation efforts as a result of WWI, but it was re-introduced in 1921.  During the second world war, from 1942 to 1945 the Egg Roll occurred on Capitol Hill.  It was canceled again from 1946-1948 because of food conservations, and then from 1949-1952 the Egg Roll was cancelled again because of White House Renovations.  It was reintroduced by Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1960, and was not cancelled again until 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19.

In 2003, President Bush made the event a private celebration for active duty and military reserve personnel and their families in response to the war in Iraq.  Later in 2009, Barack Obama began distributing tickets in an online lottery, and The White House has continued this system since.

To get tickets for the 2025 Easter Egg Roll, enter the lottery online—between Mar. 4 and Mar. 10. Winners for this year’s Easter Egg Roll were announced Mar. 18, and should be a festive event!