There are two different legends about the origin of Easter Eggs among followers of Eastern Christianity. The first legend says that Mary Magdalene was bringing cooked eggs to share with the other women at the tomb of Jesus, and the eggs in her basket miraculously turned bright red when she saw the risen Christ. The egg represents the boulder of the tomb of Jesus. The second legend says that, after the Ascension of Jesus, Mary went to the Emperor of Rome and greeted him with "Christ has risen," whereupon he pointed to an egg on his table and stated, "Christ has no more risen than that egg is red." After making this statement it is said the egg immediately turned blood red. Easter eggs are specially decorated eggs given out to celebrate the Easter holiday. The custom of the Easter egg may have existed in the early Christian community of Mesopotamia,who stained eggs red in memory of the blood of Christ, shed at his crucifixion. In later traditions the egg is also a symbol of the empty tomb. The oldest tradition is to use dyed chicken eggs, but a modern custom is to substitute eggs made from chocolate, or plastic eggs filled with candy such as jelly beans. The Easter Bunny is a folkloric figure and symbol of Easter, depicted as a rabbit bringing Easter eggs. Originating among German Lutherans, the Easter Rabbit originally played the role of a judge, evaluating whether children were good or disobedient in behaviour at the start of the season of Eastertide. In legend, the creature carries colored eggs in his basket, candy, and sometimes also toys to the homes of children, and as such shows similarities to Santa Claus or the Christkind, as they both bring gifts to children on the night before their respective holidays. The custom was first mentioned on a book in 1682 referring to a German tradition of an Easter Rabbit bringing Easter eggs for the children. Many Americans follow the tradition of coloring hard-boiled eggs and giving baskets of candy. The Easter Bunny is a popular legendary anthropomorphic Easter gift-giving character analogous to Santa Claus in American culture. On Easter Monday, the President of the United States holds an annual Easter egg roll on the White House lawn for young children.