On Monday, November 25, President Joe Biden offered pardons to a pair of turkeys named Peach and Blossom. These two birds from Minnesota joined an extensive list of turkeys to receive the distinct honor.
That begs the question, why the heck do U.S. presidents take time out of their days to perform this long-running tradition?
To be honest, there isn’t a clear answer as to why this ever became a thing. This whole ordeal began in the 1940s when Harry Truman was the first to put an “event” of sorts in 1947. That being said, the saving of turkeys prior to Thanksgiving potentially goes back even further. Some suggest Abraham Lincoln did so during his tenure, but there’s no actual evidence behind that.
Ronald Regan was the first to call it a “pardon” when he used that term in 1987. In 1989, George H.W. Bush made it official by setting up the pardon as a legitimate tradition. From that point forward, the sitting president has continued to select a lucky turkey or two to spare ahead of the worst holiday for the bird.
As for the turkeys who receive the exclusive honor, they are saved from becoming dinner a few days later. In fact, they get some perks of their own. The bird(s) is sent to a farm to be taken care of. In the case of Peach and Blossom, they’ll head to Farmamerica in their home state to be protected, according to USA Today. If the two options for these birds are to be eaten for dinner or to live out the rest of their lives as a protected species, I’m sure they’d all choose the latter.
There’s also a lot of prep work before the turkeys take center stage at the event. CBS News reported that John Zimmerman, who is the chairman of the National Turkey Federation, spent hours training the birds for their big moment. This included getting them used to noise and lights, including music so that they weren’t startled during the ceremony.
If all of this sounds ridiculous, well, it is. But hey, if two turkeys get to bask in the limelight for a day while also having the rest of their lives live in a protected ecosystem, then it’s not a total waste of time.
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The post America Has a Totally Normal Tradition of Pardoning Thanksgiving Turkeys appeared first on VICE.
