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In this photograph, President George H. W. Bush laughs during the turkey pardoning ceremony while his grandson, Sam LeBlond, gets caught in the shot. Presidents and their families have received turkeys for the holidays since the 1870s. The origin of the turkey pardon is said to have started with President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, after he offered a clemency to a turkey purchased for Christmas dinner at his son's request. However, the pardoning of a Thanksgiving turkey became a formalized tradition during the Ronald Reagan administration.
George Bush Presidential Library and Museum/NARA