WASHINGTON, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- Two turkeys arrived in Washington, D.C. for the upcoming 70th annual turkey-pardoning ceremony, a traditional practice conducted before Thanksgiving celebration in the United States, the White House announced on Sunday.
The two birds have been reportedly staying in a five-star hotel near the White House, where rooms could cost between 200 U.S. dollars to over 3,000 dollars a night.
The National Turkey Federation (NTF), a non-profit national trade association, will pay for the bill for the birds' lodgings, according to The Hill, a U.S. political journalism website.
The White House said in a statement that U.S. President Donald Trump will pardon the National Thanksgiving Turkey in a ceremony in White House's Rose Garden, set to take place on Tuesday.
After the ceremony, the turkeys will join last year's birds, pardoned by former President Barack Obama, at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly known as Virginia Tech, in a "Gobblers Rest" exhibit, the statement said.
At Virginia Tech, students and veterinarians will care for the turkeys, and the public can visit the turkeys at the exhibit that showcases the school's veterinary and animal science programs.
This year's turkeys were raised in the western part of Minnesota State under the supervision of NTF Chairman Carl Wittenburg and several others, according to the White House.
Besides them, two turkeys from Jaindl's Turkey Farm of Orefield in the state of Pennsylvania will be brought to the first family for a donation to Martha's Table, a D.C.-based charity organization.
The NTF first presented turkeys to then President Harry Truman in 1947, making 2017 the 70th year of the tradition, which became formal under former President George H. W. Bush in 1989.
Thanksgiving, a national holiday in the United States, is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November in the country, with turkey as the most common main dish for a dinner on the festival.
