Turkeys ‘Honest’ and ‘Abe’ thank their stars

U.S. President Barack Obama spared two turkeys named for one of the nation’s most admired presidents, continuing a White House tradition that provides a sense of amusement and cheer no matter how troubled the times.

Obama pardoned “Abe”, the 2015 national Thanksgiving turkey, during a ceremony on Wednesday in the Rose Garden. Abe gobbled right on cue as Obama finished his absolution.

Don’t fret for “Honest”, though, the second bird which was nearby. Both turkeys will spend their remaining days living it up on a Virginia farm. They were named for Abraham Lincoln, often nicknamed “Honest Abe”.

The birds hail from California, are 18 weeks old and weigh in at about 19 kilograms each. The names of the turkeys were chosen from submissions entered by school children in California.

American families traditionally gather each year for turkey feasts on the last Thursday of November, a holiday commonly traced to a 1621 celebration in Plymouth, Massachusetts, where the first American colonists, the Pilgrims, invited Native Americans to join them in a feast.

George H.W. Bush was the first president to formally pardon a Thanksgiving turkey in 1989, though stories of spared turkeys date back to Lincoln’s presidency. Obama was accompanied at the event by his daughters, Malia and Sasha.