7 notable Thanksgiving traditions: Pardoning a turkey, church services and ‘Friendsgiving’

4. Pardoning of the turkey

While Thanksgiving is known for having turkey as the main course of the grand meal, it's a tradition for the sitting president to pardon one or two of the fowl in a ceremony.

According to the National Constitution Center, while pardoning turkeys has been done periodically since Abraham Lincoln, the annual tradition began with President George H.W. Bush in 1989.

“Part of the confusion over the origin of the turkey pardon came from statements made by President Bill Clinton, who said the pardon as a tradition started with Lincoln and Truman,” explained the NCC.

“It's true Lincoln did a one-time turkey pardon, but Truman aficionados say there's little evidence the president spared his birds.”

The NCC noted that “turkeys [which] are bred to be eaten, have a very short lifespan,” and how, according to the group that raises turkeys for the pardon ceremony, “a pardoned bird will be lucky to live two years after it's saved by the president.”