The Thanksgiving season begins with President Joe Biden pardoning a turkey and his "comrade" to keep them off the dining table at the White House.
A formal ceremony was held on the South Lawn of the White House to pardon the turkeys, who were given the names Chocolate and Chip, per Yahoo! News.
US Thanksgiving at White House
In his message, President Joe Biden made a joke referring to the outcome of the recent US midterm elections, saying that after the votes had been "counted and verified," No "ballot stuffing" or "foul play" was found.
"The only red wave this season is going to be a German shepherd, Commander, who knocks over the cranberry sauce on our table," the POTUS quipped.
This year's National Thanksgiving Turkey presentation at the White House was the 75th annual event of its kind. With Chip as the backup, Chocolate is now the official Thanksgiving turkey of the United States.
After spending some time in the nation's capital, where they stayed at the nearby Willard Hotel, turkeys Chocolate (46 pounds) and Chip (47 pounds) will be transferred to Raleigh, North Carolina, and placed in the care of North Carolina State University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS).
President Joe Biden also expressed his appreciation for the medical community and the COVID-19 vaccines, saying, "That's what the Thanksgiving tradition is all about, being grateful for what we have."
Later on Monday night, Biden and his wife Jill traveled to North Carolina for a 'Friendsgiving' dinner to express their gratitude to the Marines stationed there.
After thanking the service members, who "represent 1% of the population," for defending the rest of Americans, President Joe Biden donned an apron and gloves to serve them dinner in a gesture of gratitude for all their efforts and sacrifices, according to Reuters.
According to NPR, the Friendsgiving dinner was made possible through the White House's Joining Forces Initiative, which supports military personnel and their families. According to Maj. Joshua Schubert, the marines and sailors in attendance were junior enlisted members of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force.
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History of Thanksgiving Turky Tradition
Although the practice of pardoning turkeys did not continue after Lincoln, the White House turkey nonetheless became a popular symbol of goodwill because of the steady stream of birds brought as gifts.
It is commonly believed that Harry Truman began the tradition of pardoning turkeys by issuing a pardon in 1947, but in reality, the official turkey presentation from the poultry industry began that year when Truman received a turkey from the Poultry and Egg National Board and the National Turkey Federation, according to the Yahoo! News article.
There was no hint of a turkey pardon when Truman said in December 1948 that the two turkeys he accepted would "come in handy" for Christmas dinner. The Washington Post used words like "pardon" and "reprieve" in an article to describe the incident when President John F. Kennedy publicly freed a turkey from the White House meal in 1963 and said, "Let's keep him going."
This Thanksgiving tradition was formally established by President George H.W. Bush in 1989. While animal rights protesters picketed nearby, he promised the turkey that "he will not end up on anyone's dinner table, not this guy - he's granted a presidential pardon as of right now" and would instead be allowed to spend the rest of his life at a children's farm.
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