The history of White House Thanksgiving traditions date back more than 160 years to President Abraham Lincoln, who established the national holiday.

The annual turkey pardoning is a long-held Thanksgiving tradition for the White House. But the history of exactly when the pardon began "gets tricky."

On Nov. 26, 2014, President Barack Obama pardoned two turkeys, Virgil and Homer, from Cooper Farms in Fort Recovery, Ohio. The near-50-pound turkeys were spared from a Thanksgiving Day feast and sent to retire at Morven Park in Virginia.