April 17. 2022 - National Ellis Island Family History Day | Easter

Welcome to April 17, 2022 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate family history and an egg roll for everyone. Ellis Island’s immigration office opened on January 1st 1892, and became the point of entry for Europeans coming into the United States. The first person to pass through its gates was Annie Moore, a 15 year old girl from Ireland. She and her two younger brothers began what would become a mass migration from Europe. Over the next 6 decades, more than 12 million immigrants entered the country through Ellis Island. This facility is no longer in service, but it is a museum that pays homage to the brave men and women who came to America in search of building better lives. We celebrate National Ellis Island Family History Day by remembering this important era of American history and by tracing our own family stories through it. Kids have been rolling eggs down hill in celebration of Easter for decades. In Washington, DC Capitol Hill was the best in town. However, the festivities were so disruptive that in 1876 Congress passed a law to keep trespassers off the property. Two years later, President Rutherford B Hayes and his wife Lucy invited all the local children to roll their eggs on the South Lawn of the White House instead, and it’s been an Easter tradition ever since. The ceremonies and circumstances have changed a bit over the years. Kids now use wooden eggs rather than the hard boiled variety, but the contest itself is the same, roll an Easter egg down the hill and have a good laugh about it with your friends. On Easter Sunday, we celebrate many things, but especially the joy we can find through celebrating together. I’m Anna Devere and I’m Marlo Anderson. Thanks for joining us as we Celebrate Every Day Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices