White House Easter Egg Roll returns in person after pandemic hiatus

The White House Easter Egg Roll is returning in person, after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Easter Egg Roll takes place all day Monday, when thousands of children will fill the White House's South Lawn. 

The theme of the 2022 Easter Egg Roll is "EGGucation," inspired by First Lady Jill Biden's decades as an educator. On top of the usual egg hunt, this year's event will feature a schoolhouse activity area, reading nook, talent show and picture day. 

Presidents through the years have hosted the annual Easter Egg Roll, with the first one held in 1878 under President Rutherford B. Hayes, and it's been canceled occasionally for a variety of reasons. The District of Columbia disallowed the event in 1918 due to food rations, and it was canceled at the onset of World War II for security reasons, according to the White House Historical Association. 

The Trump White House canceled the Easter Egg Roll in mid-March 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic swept the country, "out of an abundance of caution." The Biden White House didn't hold the event last year either, when vaccines still weren't widely available to all adults and to children. 

This year, the White House estimates about 30,000 people will participate in the Easter Egg Roll, including military families. Tickets were distributed through an online public lottery.