Americans, over the course of centuries, have fought for a lot of things and it’s no different when it comes to the annual festivities that take place at our nation’s capitol. The Easter White House Egg Roll was a battle … but the majority won!

During the presidency of James Madison (1809-1817), his wife Dolley was fascinated when she learned that little Egyptian children followed an egg rolling tradition around the pyramids of Egypt and both were inspired. Thus children began egg rolling on the White House grounds until a bunch of grumps became upset.

In 1877, Congressman became upset because they didn’t believe that the nation’s capitol should be littered with the remains of hard boiled eggs. Not to mention the festivities still took place even though they were "cancelled" under orders by Congress.

The story becomes a little fuzzy after that though.

Version one is said that an angry nursemaid accompanied by a group of angry followers basically stormed into the White House and demanded the children to be given access to the lawn for egg rolling while version two of the story says Rutherford B. Hayes was riding by to see children in tears.

Nonetheless it is confirmed that the very next year, then President Hayes and his wife Lucy in 1878 opened up the lawns to let anxious children carry on, no one has been brave enough to say no ever since.

There have been a few occasions when the egg rolling didn’t take place on the White House grounds most likely for the sake of national security because during World War I and World War II, the egg rolling ceremony was held at the National Zoo as well as other locations.

Every year on the Monday after Easter thousands of children raid the south lawn to ‘roll eggs’ that are signed by famous Americans including the President and First Lady. Who would have thought there would ever have been such turmoil over a bunch of kids with some eggs, the tradition lives on!

Source: Johann Erickson, OnlineDiscountMart.com