With two months left until he leaves office, United States President Joe Biden held the annual “turkey pardon” ceremony at the White House for the last time this Monday (25).
The tradition leading up to Thanksgiving consists of forgiving animals so that they are not sacrificed on the holiday.
This year, Peach and Blossom were the animals chosen for the ceremony. The birds raised in the state of Minnesota were presented to the public on Sunday (24) and, before being pardoned, spent the night in a luxurious suite in a hotel.
After the ceremony, the turkeys returned to Minnesota, where they will be well cared for and serve as agricultural ambassadors for years to come.
This year’s ceremony is the 77th annual turkey show. The tradition began during Harry Truman’s government in 1947. The president was the first to accept the bird from the National Turkey Federation (official supplier of the animals), but he did not spare it. The first documented pardon was given by John F. Kennedy in 1963.
Pardoning became the norm only in 1989, when George HW Bush revived the tradition, now a staple of the White House holiday season. Before that, Gerald Ford and Richard Nixon also decided not to forgive the birds.
This content was originally published in Biden forgives turkeys in Thanksgiving tradition on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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