NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles! The White House turkey pardoning ceremony, a long-held Thanksgiving tradition formalized 77 years ago, traces its origins back decades further.

The national turkey lobby first presented a turkey to President Truman in the 1940s for Thanksgiving, and President George H.W. Bush began the annual tradition of pardoning turkeys, Biden said.

Turkeys Peach and Blossom are pictured before a ceremony in which President Joe Biden will pardon the national Thanksgiving turkey on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Nov. 25, 2024.

President John F. Kennedy, left, reaches out to touch a big, 40-pound turkey, presented to him Nov. 19, 1963, at the White House. the presentation was made on behalf of the nation’s turkey industry.