Bush pardons Thanksgiving turkey

U.S. President George W. Bush (L) looks at "May" as he pardons the National Thanksgiving Turkey in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, Nov. 20, 2007. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- Thanksgiving is not good news for turkeys, which will usually be served on every American family's dinning table.

But two lucky birds received full and unconditional pardons Tuesday from U.S. President George W. Bush.

"You cannot take the heat, and you're definitely going to stay out of the kitchen," Bush said to the birds at the 60th annual turkey pardoning at the White House.

U.S. Presidents since Harry Truman have pardoned turkeys, but the event has been updated in recent years to include a bird-naming contest, with votes cast on the White House Web site.

Nominees this year included Wing and Prayer, Wish and Bone, and Tom and Jake.

White House spokesman Tony Fratto said not even speech writers at the White House would not know the names of the two birds until the president announced them in the Rose Garden.

In the end, Bush announced the winners in a ceremony in Rose Garden.

"I'm pleased to announce the winning names. They are May and Flower," he said with a smile.

Since they were pardoned, May and Flower will fly first class to the Disney World in Florida to live in the backyard of Mickey Mouse's Country House at the Magic Kingdom.

Asked by the press if the president had any "secret trips" in mind for Thanksgiving this week, White House press secretary Dana Perino said, "No, not that I'm aware of."

Bush visited the troops in Iraq on Thanksgiving Day in 2003, flying covertly from his ranch in Crawford, Texas, to Baghdad to have a turkey dinner with 600 troops.

Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a traditional North American holiday to give thanks at the conclusion of the harvest season.

In the United States, Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday of November and is part of four day long weekend marking the most popular family reunion time in a year.

After Thanksgiving Day, the day after is known as the unofficial holiday of Black Friday, the beginning of the traditional Christmas shopping season.

Many retailers open very early and offer bargain deals to draw large amount of people to their stores.