In this season when the turkey becomes the star of the Thanksgiving dinner, President Barack Obama has spared a duo of Thanksgiving turkeys from the fate of ending up on the dinner table.
The first turkey, which weighed 49 pounds, is called Cheese. A second, alternate turkey named Mac was also spared. It weighed 47 pounds. Both turkeys came from Cooper Farms in Oakwood, Ohio.
Obama has each year pardoned a turkey ever since he took office in 2009. During his first turkey pardon, he sparred Courage, the winning turkey of the year. The decision to spare Courage was also influenced by his daughters Malia and Sasha.
"Thanks to the intervention of Malia and Sasha -- because I was ready to eat this sucker -- Courage will also be sparred this terrible and delicious fate," said Obama.
This year, the turkey named Cheese had been voted on Twitter to escape the knife. His alternate, fellow "sparred turkey" named Mac, is not landing on the dinner table either. Obama noted the turkeys' seemingly "happy" stare in his informal speech.
"If you're a turkey, and you're named after a side dish, your chances of escaping Thanksgiving dinner are pretty low," said Obama in the annual event.
"So these guys are well ahead of the curve. They really beat the odds," Obama added.
Cheese and Mac were raised by the National Turkey Federation, a national nonprofit organization, which was founded in 1973 and is dedicated to the conservation of the wild turkey and preservation of a hunting heritage.
Pardoning this year's Thanksgiving turkey is also Obama's way of continuing the tradition at the White House dating back 67 years ago.
The first president ever presented with a turkey at the White House Thanksgiving ceremony was President Truman. The tradition was continued by President Eisenhower when he received a Thanksgiving turkey from the National Turkey Federation.
The first president to send a turkey to a farm was President Kennedy.
The first president to give a turkey a formal pardon, which eventually started the official custom of having a pardoning ceremony, was President George H.W. Bush.
At the White House, Obama expressed the wisdom behind the turkey pardon tradition.
"It is a little puzzling that I do this every year, but I will say that I enjoy it because with all the tough stuff that swirls around in this office, it's nice once in a while just to say, 'Happy Thanksgiving,'" said Obama.
Watch the ceremony in the video below:
