Egg Rolling Home

Where did it start?

Egg Rolling and other Easter Activities

Held for more than 120 years, early egg rolling activities took place on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol. However, under President Rutherford Hayes, the event was moved to the South Lawn of the White House, where it is still held. The tradition started in England but when the U.S. heard of it they had bigger celebrations.

Pictures

History

• The pre-Christian Saxons had a spring goddess Eostre, whose feast was held on the Vernal Equinox, around 21 March. Her animal was the spring hare, and the rebirth of the land in spring was symbolised by the egg. Pope Gregory the Great ordered his missionaries to use old religious sites and festivals and absorb them into Christian rituals where possible.. This tradition, along with others such as the Easter Bunny, were taken to the New World by European settlers

History

• The Christian celebration of the Resurrection of Christ was ideally suited to be merged with the Pagan feast of Eostre and many of the traditions were adopted into the Christian festivities. In England, Germany and other countries children traditionally rolled eggs down hillsides at Easter and it is thought that this may have become symbolic of the rolling away of the rock from Jesus Christ’s tomb before his resurrection

Hare pie• The Easter Monday tradition of "Hare Pie Scramble and Bottle

Kicking" in Hallaton, Leicestershire, England, is really quite intricate. To start, the ingredients of a hare pie include:

• 4 pounds of flour • 2 pounds of lard • 2 hares • 3 pounds of onions • 7 pounds of potatoes • Seasoning .

The Tradition• It's an age-old tradition which attracts thousands of families to Preston's Avenham

Park every Easter. Now organisers of the annual Easter egg rolling fair want to capture memories of previous events for a new exhibition. Avenham Park has been attracting egg-rollers since Victorian times. Around 20,000 visitors lined up last year to roll their eggs down a hill before eating them.

• Chris Selkirk, events manager at Preston Council, said: "Egg-rolling has been passed

down family lines over the years and it's one of the best attended events in Preston. "Some people will roll their eggs and disappear, others will make a day of it. This year, for the first time, we have got use of the pavilion so we've been looking at how we can make the experience more rewarding.

• "An exhibition is a great way of telling the story of Preston."

The Tradition

Historians at the University of Central Lancashire and Harris Museum have provided footage of egg-rolling in Edwardian times for the exhibition, which will open at Avenham Park pavilion on Easter Monday, to tie-in with this year's event. Organisers at Preston Council have teamed up with the Evening Post to get members of the public who have their own memories, photos or videos from previous years to contribute to the display.

The Tradition

• Chris Selkirk, events manager at Preston Council, said: "Egg-rolling has been passed down family lines over the years and it's one of the best attended events in Preston. "Some people will roll their eggs and disappear, others will make a day of it. This year, for the first time, we have got use of the pavilion so we've been looking at how we can make the experience more rewarding.

• "An exhibition is a great way of telling the story of Preston."

History1

• In the picture they are egg rolling at the White house! It is amazing how far our tradition has spread all the way to America from England.

In the UK the tradition of rolling decorated eggs down grassy hills goes back hundreds of years and is known as "pace-egging", from the Old English Pasch

meaning Easter.In Lancashire there are annual egg rolling competitions at Avenham Park in Preston and at Holcome Hill near Ramsbottom. There is an

old Lancashire legend that says the broken eggshells should be carefully crushed afterwards or they will be stolen and used as boats by witches.

Other traditional egg rolling sites are the castle moat at Penrith, Bunkers Hill in Derby and Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh. The eggs were traditionally wrapped in

onion skins and boiled to give them a mottled gold appearance (although today they are usually painted) and the children competed to see who could roll their

egg the furthest.The eggs were eaten on Easter Sunday or given out to pace-eggers –

fantastically dressed characters who processed through the streets singing traditional pace-egging songs and collecting money as a tribute before

performing traditional mumming plays. This tradition has also survived at Linctus Peverell in the Cotswolds.

The Gander song

• The young men of a village would dress as mummers and sing the traditional “Gander song,” the first verse of which is:

• Roodle oh my doddle ohRoodle all the dayNow all you gay bachelors listen oh to meNever get wed if you want to stay freeBilly cock, Billy cockFor who will boggle me ganderWhen I am far away?Roodle oh my doddle ohRoodle all the day

• This song was sung about 300 years ago

History 2

• Other traditional egg rolling sites are the castle moat at Penrith, Bunkers Hill in Derby and Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh. The eggs were traditionally wrapped in onion skins and boiled to give them a mottled gold appearance (although today they are usually painted) and the children competed to see who could roll their egg the furthest. In this picture people are egg rolling at Druid Hall.

The Pie

The pie is cooked on Easter Monday, using a 20-inch square tin, at either Torch House, which belongs to Torch Trust for the Blind (previously Hallaton Convent), or at the Bewick Arms. The pie is paraded in a procession through the village from the Fox Inn to the gate of St. Michael's Church. Immediately behind the pie in the procession are the three "bottles" that are used for the Bottle Kicking match. These are actually small barrels, about 14 inches high by 9 inches in diameter and weighing about 20 pounds. Two of these are brown in colour and filled with about a gallon of ale each. The remaining "bottle" is left empty and is coloured red and white.

The Pie

• The pie is distributed by the rector of St. Michael's Church to the crowd. Some of the pie is put into sacks and carried away with other processions through the village, ending at the top of Hare Pie bank. This is where the Bottle Kicking match takes place between Hallaton and the neighbouring village of Melbourne. There is no limit to the number of competitors in the Bottle Kicking match

The Pie

• The competitors arrange themselves in a circle at the top of the bank. The chairman of the Bottle Kicking match throws the first full "bottle" into the air and allows it to fall on the ground. This is repeated twice more. When the "bottle" lands on the ground the third time, it is "in play." What follows is a chaotic battle between the two teams to move the "bottle" toward their respective villages over their respective touchlines.

The End

•By Sam Myerscough

Age 11