Is That Legal?

Hmmm. I'm usually pretty strict in this regard, but this (using your links) looks a lot more like a relatively recent tradition with relatively weak religious roots. The Christians you linked to are having to work pretty hard to give the practices theological significance. Actually, the Egg has pretty strong pagan roots as a symbol of spring (it's on the Passover Seder plate as well, for those of you who haven't been Jewish recently), though I suppose that's a religion as well.

There is a gray area between religious practice and cultural practice -- the White House Christmas Cards (infamous this year for their ecumenism) are another example -- into which the Egg Hunt/Roll seems to me to fall. That doesn't mean that it's automatically OK: it means that we have to decide whether it's closer to a cultural phenomenon or a religious symbol.

I do note one line in the About article: "only canceled during times of war." Aren't we in a war, now? I'm sure I heard the president say something about war....

Jonathan, in our culture, Easter egg hunts/rolls happen because of their association with ... Easter. I reject entirely the assertion that visually neutral objects that are entirely related to religious events are "secular." Christmas trees. Christmas cards. Santa. Easter Eggs. In my view, the main reason why the majority culture has such an easy time saying that they're just "secular" is that it's their religious tradition with which the objects are associated.

I'm sure that the eating of Matzoh pre-dated Passover, for example. And I know you can buy it in stores year-'round. But I wouldn't pretend for a minute that if the White House had an official matzoh-baking event the afternoon before the start of Passover, that this would be a "secular" event. Or a dreidel- or latke-making or spinning event on the first night of Chanukah. Even though there's nothing obviously religious about a potato pancake or a spinning top.

Of course, this country does not have such events, which kind of makes my point doubly.

I won't defend the practice, Eric. In fact, I think the sooner that the government stomps out public appearances of the Easter Bunny, the better off we'll all be.

And FWIW, I believe the WH under the present administration has hosted special events, specifically WH dinners, recognizing various Jewish and Muslim sectarian holidays. They do it on the down low, nobody wants Michael Newdow to be the object of a modern version of "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" but if you go look up WH dinner guest lists, it isn't hard to figure it out.

Personally, I'm in favor of the government treating everybody's major religious holidays with some dignity, which ironically enough is part of the point of RFRA. Heck, we should recognize a couple atheistic holidays - I don't know how to do so but I suspect that hard core libertarians would favor a day when we celebrate nothing or perhaps exercise freedom from all trappings of transcendant moral codes. But I abhore the state of First Amendment jurisprudence that makes all the little legal and political fictions necessary. It seems to me that it would be more honest to accept and recognize the importance that religion or spiritual faith (or in the case of many atheists I've met the lack thereof) plays in most Americans' lives, rather than all the deceptive and nickel&dime ways of trying to accomodate religion under a bunch of nebulous and constantly shifting Free Exercise and Establishment Clause cases.

Traditional, cultural, or religious influence - what's the big deal. It sure would be boring if you got rid of everything that is questionable to someone - there'd be nothing left. It is all this diversity and the American tolerance of same that makes this country great. Everyone should save their energy up for fussing about something really important. Like terrorism, starving children, war ... I doubt seriously that having or not having an Easter Egg hunt or a dinner with a religious connotation is going to reduce the world's population ...

John - How are you and the children? The boss wanted me to mention that he hopes you don't have a nasty fall on your slippery slope. It'd be a shame if an unfortunate civic- or school-sponsored Islamic, er, I mean, "secular" holiday celebration should visit one of your young family member. That wouldn't upset you, would it? Hmm.. Reducing world population - sounds like an admirable cause, if you know what I mean.

Just remember, we didn't have this conversation.

It doesn't seem to me to be an "official government endorsement of Christianity."

Rather, it is an endorsement of Christianity by the person who lives that House. Not everything that is done by the person who lives there constitutes an "official government endorsement". It is, to me, no different than when the person who lives there drives in an official governmental limosine to worship at a church; that's not an "official government endorsement of Christianity" either, notwithstanding that official government property and the official Head of Government just drove to the church.

I'm sure that the eating of Matzoh pre-dated Passover, for example. And I know you can buy it in stores year-'round. But I wouldn't pretend for a minute that if the White House had an official matzoh-baking event the afternoon before the start of Passover, that this would be a "secular" event. Or a dreidel- or latke-making or spinning event on the first night of Chanukah. Even though there's nothing obviously religious about a potato pancake or a spinning top.

Eric, this is the same example I was thinking of. But my question is, if the current president were an observant Jew rather than a practicing Christian, and he wanted to host, say, Passover at his home, would it be inappropriate? Granted that during his term he's not entirely a private individual, he's nevertheless free to practice whatever his religion is, and I don't see any reason to keep that practice under wraps. If he wants to have a matzoh-bake or an Easter-egg roll (and assuming nobody else is required to attend), is there any reason he shouldn't?

This is an official White House event, and has been for years. Obviously, the occupant of the White House lives there, and he can observe his faith as he wishes. This event, however, has nothing to do with a private religious celebration by the occupant. As the White House itself puts it, "[t]he story of the White House Easter Egg Roll, which begins at one end of Pennsylvania Avenue and continues at the other, is one of the oldest and most unique traditions in presidential history."