Thanksgiving in the U.S.: Origins, Traditions, and the Turkey Pardon

A concise, neutral explainer on Thanksgiving in the United States: origins commonly linked to a 1621 harvest celebration, key traditions like the Thursday family dinner, parades, and football, and the modern presidential turkey “pardon,” formalized as an annual event during the George H. W. Bush administration. Includes a noted Bush quote and the Butterball Talk-Line (launched in 1981), which now fields over 200,000 cooking questions each season.