There are three themes to Thanksgiving Day traditions, the family turkey meal, parading and giving thanks.
Thanksgiving Superstitions
White House Rose Garden Turky Pardon
Two Turkeys Meet
Beware the Turkey?
To borrow a line from WC Fields: ‘Never work with children, animals, or Thanksgiving turkeys’.
Thanksgiving 2008 marks the 61st anniversary of the National Thanksgiving Turkey presentation. Live Thanksgiving turkeys have been presented to presidents since the days of Abe Lincoln. However, the current form of the ceremony dates back to President Harry Truman in 1947.
Whitehouse Tradition Continues – Spot the Turkey!
The turkey (and its alternate) are pardoned by the President on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. The ceremony traditionally takes place on the White House Rose Garden, and is a wonderful photo shoot opportunity. The lucky turkey will then be sent to Disneyland, where it will be the grand marshal of the Disney Thanksgiving Day Parade.
The tradition’s origin is uncertain. One story claims that Harry Truman pardoned a turkey in 1947, but the Truman Library has been unable to find any evidence for this. Another claims that the tradition dates back to Abraham Lincoln, in October 1863, pardoning his son Tad’s pet turkey. Both of these stories have been cited in recent presidential speeches.
Interestingly, the great American public is allowed to vote for the turkeys’ names on the White House web site. 2007 lucky birds were ‘May’ and ‘Flower’. In 2006’s the turkeys pardoned were named Flyer and Fryer. While in 2005’s turkeys were named Marshmallow and Yam were spared. 2004’s were named Biscuit and Gravy; and 2003’s were Stars and Stripes. The 2008 winners, who were pardoned were Pumpkin and Pecan.
Thanksgiving 2009 Update
President Obama made the official presidential Thanksgiving pardon on Wednesday, November 25. A turkey called ‘Courage’ was spared along with an alternative called ‘Carolina’.
Crazy how one thing can set you off at a tangent.
Talking of yam, this what Popeye said:
“I yam what I yam, and that’s all that I yam.”
See the latest on pardoning Thanksgiving turkeys
2011 Presidential Turkey Pardon
On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving 2011 President Obama pardoned two turkeys as usual, this year they were called Liberty and Peace.
Sarah Hale, a magazine editor, campaigned tirelessly for a national Thanksgiving day. Hale wrote in Godey’s Lady’s Book, eventually Sarah’s idea caught the president’s eye and in 1863, President Lincoln proclaimed the idea of November Thanksgiving, to be precise, that last Thursday in November would be a national day of Thanksgiving. In 2010, Thanksgiving day falls on November 25th.
Origins of The Turkey
The history of the turkey goes back at least 800 years to New Mexico. When Cortés invaded Mexico, he discovered that the natives kept flocks of turkeys. Biologists suspect that the Meso-american civilization domesticated the turkey Meleagris gallopavo. This culture developed in the Maya of Belize, Guatemala, and up through Mexico.
In Cortés time it was all very different from today’s celebration of Thanksgiving with the turkey at center stage. Or was it? While the surroundings were completely different, and the time of year may have been nearer summer, but I expect the ancients new how to party on turkey!
