2022 Turkey Pardon Ceremony, Biden Administration

This photograph of the 2022 turkey pardon ceremony was taken by Matthew DAgostino on November 21, 2022 on the South Lawn of the White House. President Joseph R. Biden is pictured alongside Ronnie Parker, chairman of the National Turkey Federation (NTF), and Alexa Starnes, daughter of the owner of Circle S Ranch. During the ceremony, President Biden formally pardoned the official National Thanksgiving Turkey, Chocolate, and the alternate, Chip. Chocolate and Chip were raised by NTF chairman Ronnie Parker at Circle S Ranch near Monroe, North Carolina. After the ceremony, the turkeys were transferred to the Talley Turkey Education Unit at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. Presidents and their families have received turkeys for the holidays since the 1870s. The origin of the turkey pardon, however, dates to 1863when President Abraham Lincoln offered clemency to a turkey purchased for Christmas dinner at his son's request. The pardoning of a Thanksgiving turkey became a formalized tradition during the George H. W. Bush administration.