or other grassy slopes or areas such as seaside links. There is some variation in the spelling and pronunciation of the term pace, including also pash and peace. United States In the United States, the Easter Egg Roll is held on the White House South Lawn each Easter Monday for children (age 13 and younger) and their parents. It is hosted by the President of the United States and the First Lady of the United States. The Egg Roll is a race where children push an egg through the grass with a long-handled spoon. Surrounding events include appearances by White House personalities in Easter Bunny costumes, speeches and book-reading by cabinet secretaries, and exhibits of artistically decorated eggs. According to tradition, Dolley Madison, the wife of President James Madison, began the event in 1814. Hundreds of children brought their decorated eggs to join in games. Rolling Easter eggs was a popular annual custom in Washington D.C. and Alexandria, Virginia, as early as the 1850s. Children rolled eggs on Easter Monday (and sometimes Good Friday) at the Capitol, the White House, and other parks and open spaces. Easter eggs were rolled at the Capitol as early as 1855 and at the White House as early as 1860. By the 1870s, the Capitol had become the most popular place to roll eggs, although they were also rolled at the White House and other places. In 1876, shortly after a particularly rambunctious Easter egg roll destroyed much of the lawn at the Capitol, Congress passed a law making it illegal to use the Capitol complex as a children's playground. Heavy rain prevented much egg rolling in 1877, so the ban was not tested until 1878. At the request of a number of children, including his own, then President Rutherford B. Hayes and his wife Lucy Hayes brought the event to the White House lawns in 1878. From that year on, the egg roll would be an annual White House event, with the exception of 1917 (moved to the Washington Monument), 1918-1920 (canceled due to food shortages and influenza concerns), 1942 (moved to the Capitol West Lawn), 1943-1945 (World War II), 1946-1947 (food conservation), 1948-1952 (restoration of the White House) and 2020-2021 (social distancing measures to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic). In 1953, Mamie Eisenhower proposed that the event be opened to black children, who were allowed to participate starting in 1954. The event was