Next Thursday, November 28, is the official Thanksgiving Day in the USA.
In every house, people are getting ready for this very important celebration and family gathering. As they say
Everybody’s home for Thanksgiving.
It is something Americans can’t miss. Thanksgiving Day is one of the busiest periods for travel in the USA. This can cause congestion and overcrowding. Seasonal parades and busy football games can cause disruption to local traffic.
Many offices and businesses allow staff to have a four-day weekend so these offices and businesses are also closed on the Friday after Thanksgiving Day.
At the centre of the celebrations there is the turkey, the symbol of every Thanksgiving meal.
Every year, a lucky turkey (sometimes two) doesn’t end up on somebody’s table but is officially “pardoned” by the US President and will end its life on a petting farm.
Unfortunately, most of the pardoned turkeys only last a few months because the presidential birds, bred to be eaten, are so fat that by the time of their pardon, their days are numbered. “Their flesh has grown so fast, and their heart and their bones and their other organs can’t catch up,” declared the owner of a turkey pen.
Harry Truman started the tradition in 1947. President Eisenhower pardoned turkeys at the White House, as did Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Reagan. George Bush Sr. pardoned four turkeys in the course of his presidency. Bill Clinton pardoned eight.
Watch President Obama pardon the 2012 turkeys (named Cobbler and Gobbler) outside the White House.
And this year it is Popcorn’s turn to be pardoned by the President outside the White House on 27 November.
Anyway, have you ever wondered why a bird is called like a country, Turkey?
Well, here is an interesting explanation.
What about learning how to prep and roast a turkey? Here are two videos.
And a recipe.
