Easter weekend in the US is too truncated for my liking - neither Good Friday nor Easter Monday are bank holidays, making it just like a normal weekend with a lot of chocolate and church services sandwiched in between. This is a great shame, not least because Easter is my favourite festival and it is always wonderful to have a little extra time to enjoy the Spring sunshine. DC is stunning at this time of year - the cherry blossoms are blooming, the daffodils are dancing and the Tidal Basin tulips are spectacular.
Despite the absence of public holidays, the festivities for kids continue today with the annual Easter Egg Roll at the White House. This is a tradition established in 1814 by Dolley Madison and involves young children rolling eggs down the White House Lawn. The event used to take place on the lawn outside Congress but was declared too messy in 1877 after new turf had been planted. The Roll then moved to the White House, where it was presumably thought perfectly acceptable to have thousands of young children squashing eggs in the front garden. As one might expect, the Obamas have added a new touch to the annual tradition - same-sex couples and their children have been formally invited for the first time, the traditional all-night queues for tickets have been abolished in favour of an online lottery for places and the event is being web-cast for the first time (whoever thought watching Sasha and Malia help the White House chef bake gum drop cookies would be so entertaining?).
Huffington Post has an entertaining little section on the history of the Easter Egg Roll - including a slideshow of the White House event through the ages. There are some truly classic pics - this one of George Bush and the Easter Bunny is pretty special. But my absolute favourite is the black and white one below, which is posted with the caption "Lost and strayed children with a White House policeman during the Easter egg roll circa 1920". I love the fact that the White House policeman is clearly having such a great time that he doesn't seem the slightest bit bothered about returning the multitude of 'lost and strayed children' to their parents. With 30,000 people expected at the White House for the 2009 Easter Egg Roll, I suspect today's security might be a little tighter...
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