Kids started this U.S. Easter tradition

In the 1800s, the rolling lawns of the U.S. Capitol were an irresistible target for kids on Easter Monday.

One of the few days off for kids and adults, Easter Monday also included lots of leftover hard-boiled eggs.

Naturally, the Capitol soon became the site of egg rolls, in which children would compete to see whose egg could roll farther without breaking. It became quite the thing. In fact, around 1876, 10,000 kids showed up to egg roll. According to history.com, the spectacle was so noisy that no business could be done in the House and Senate chambers. By the end of the day, the lawns were in ruin. Outraged Congressmen immediately wrote legislation protecting the Capitol turf. President Ulysses S. Grant signed the bill two weeks later.

A showdown was avoided the next year when rain discouraged the annual invasion of egg rollers.

Police discouraged the children the following year but, to the rescue, came President Rutherford B. Hayes who, on April 22, 1878, welcomed players to the White House backyard, the first official White House Easter Egg Roll.

In those more innocent years, families picnicked on the lawns while the kids rolled eggs, leaving behind dead grass, trash, broken egg shells, and many hidden and — increasingly smelly — eggs.

Cut to 1937 when the annual crowd grew to 50,000 people, inadequately accommodated on the South Lawn. Only WWII stopped the event and the increasingly enthusiastic crowds. When the Roll resumed after post-war rationing ended, it began to assume its modern, and much more controlled, form with an egg roll for little kids and various activities.

Today, the White House holds a lottery to distribute 35,000 tickets for the Egg Roll. If you win one, get ready for hours of lines and a fairly short experience on the White House lawn, but a very memorable family photo.