Biden pardons Peach and Blossom turkeys at final Thanksgiving event

US President Joe Biden has pardoned the turkeys Peach and Blossom this Monday, in the annual tradition with which they are freed from being at the tables for Thanksgiving, Reuters reports. With this event the Christmas season also begins in the White House.

This year’s turkeys are named after the Delaware state flower, the peach blossom, which symbolizes resilienceBiden explained to a crowd of around 2,500 people on the South Lawn of the White House.

«This event marks the official start of the Christmas season here in Washington. It is also the last time I speak here as president and I thank you. So let me tell you: it has been the honor of my life. “I will be eternally grateful,” Biden said.

Peach weighs 19 kg, while Blossom weighs 18 kg. The tradition of pardoning turkeys dates back to Harry Truman’s Presidencyin 1947.

It officially began in 1989 in the White House, when the then president George HW Bush offered first pardon presidential.

This Monday, Biden will travel to Staten Island in New York City, for another Thanksgiving event with members of the United States Coast Guard.