The inception of White House Thanksgiving customs can be traced back over 160 years to the tenure of President Abraham Lincoln. It was this revered leader who pioneered the national holiday we now fondly know as Thanksgiving.

Throughout Lincoln’s term, he issued a proclamation to mark the celebration of Thanksgiving. His successful initiative overshadowed the attempts of his predecessors, as reported by the National Park Service.

The official recognition of Thanksgiving as an annual national holiday owes a lot to Sarah Josepha Hale, a writer and editor of “Boston’s Ladies Magazine.” Hale penned numerous essays from 1827, advocating for Thanksgiving to be recognized as a national holiday. Eventually, in September 1863, she wrote to Lincoln, urging him to use his executive powers to establish the holiday.

Lincoln yielded to Hale’s request and, just a few weeks later, in October 1863, during the peak of the Civil War, he issued the Thanksgiving Proclamation. This marked the beginning of the annual celebration of Thanksgiving Day across the country. However, it wasn’t until December 26, 1941, following the passage of a bill by Congress, that the holiday was set to fall on the fourth Thursday in November each year.

White House Thanksgiving celebrations are typically modest, with one tradition involving the pardoning of fortunate turkeys, saving them from becoming dinner.

The privilege of the first turkey pardon is believed to have been granted by Lincoln himself, as reported by White House correspondent Noah Brooks in an 1865 dispatch, based on records from the White House Historical Association. Lincoln spared a turkey named Jack, belonging to his son Tad Lincoln, which was originally destined for the family’s Christmas dinner in 1863.

The annual ritual of pardoning presentation turkeys and sending them to a farm to live out their days didn’t become a norm until the presidency of Ronald Reagan in the 1980s. Before this, presidents would occasionally receive turkeys from the poultry industry and opt not to eat them, without any formal pardon.

The tradition of presenting turkeys to the president became a standard practice in 1981, and the pardoning ceremonies quickly captured national attention. By 1989, the annual tradition solidified with President George H.W. Bush, who spoke to the pardoned turkey, uttering the line that his successors have continued to echo at ceremonies today: “He’s granted a presidential pardon as of right now.”

On Monday, President Biden issued the final two turkey pardons of his term, to Peach and Blossom, sending them to live out the rest of their lives at Minnesota’s Farmamerica as poultry ambassadors for agricultural students.

Apart from the turkey pardoning ritual, presidents typically spend Thanksgiving in much the same way as households across the country. The first recorded Thanksgiving gathering at the White House dates back to November 28, 1878, under the presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes. Hayes hosted a large Thanksgiving dinner gathering with his family and private secretaries, followed by hymn singing in the Red Room. He also invited the African-American staff to enjoy their own Thanksgiving meal in the State Dining Room.

Over time, this tradition has endured, surviving economic downturns and war times. Presidents have consistently made time for family. In recent decades, presidents have embraced the custom of celebrating the holiday outside the White House at their preferred vacation spots. President-elect Donald Trump spent nearly all Thanksgivings of his first term at his Mar-a-Lago estate in West Palm Beach, Florida. President Biden has spent every Thanksgiving during his term with his family in Nantucket, Massachusetts, a tradition the Biden family has upheld for over 40 years.