When Is Thanksgiving? This Year’s Date and the Next 10 Years

When is Thanksgiving? In the United States it is always the fourth Thursday in November, which puts Thanksgiving 2026 on Thursday, November 26. Next year it moves to November 25, and it can never fall earlier than November 22 or later than November 28.

That fixed rule is younger than most people think. It dates only to a 1941 law, passed after President Franklin Roosevelt moved the holiday and left the country celebrating on two different days. Below are the dates through 2035, the history behind the fourth Thursday, and what fills the calendar around it, from the 100th Macy’s parade to the NFL’s three games.

When Is Thanksgiving 2026?

Thanksgiving 2026 is Thursday, November 26. It is a federal holiday, so federal offices, the Federal Reserve and the stock market are closed. The day after, Friday, November 27, is Black Friday. Canada already celebrated its Thanksgiving on Monday, October 12, 2026.

Thanksgiving Dates for the Next 10 Years

Every date below follows the fourth-Thursday rule and matches the federal holiday schedules published by the Office of Personnel Management and the Federal Reserve:

The pattern repeats on a loose cycle. Thanksgiving moves back one or two days each year, then jumps forward six days, so the earliest possible date, November 22, comes around next in 2029 and again in 2035.

Why Thanksgiving Is on the Fourth Thursday in November

The rule is written into federal law. The federal holidays statute, 5 U.S.C. 6103, lists “Thanksgiving Day, the fourth Thursday in November” among the 11 legal public holidays. Because it is pinned to a weekday, it never needs an “observed” date the way July 4 or Christmas sometimes does.

The wording was a late change. The resolution shown above passed the House on October 6, 1941, and named the last Thursday of November. The Senate amended it on December 9 to the fourth Thursday, to account for years when November has five Thursdays, and the House agreed. Roosevelt signed the final joint resolution, Public Law 379, on December 26, 1941, and it took effect in 1942.

The difference between “last” and “fourth” still matters. In the coming decade, November has five Thursdays in 2028, 2029, 2034 and 2035. Under the old rule, Thanksgiving 2028 would have been November 30 instead of November 23.

The Year of Two Thanksgivings: FDR’s 1939 Change

Before 1941, the date was set each year by presidential proclamation, and tradition since Lincoln was the last Thursday. In 1939 that fell on November 30, the last day of the month. Business leaders warned that the short gap before Christmas, just 24 shopping days, would hurt sales, so Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving a week earlier to November 23.

The country split. According to the National Archives, 32 states followed the new date and 16 kept November 30, while Mississippi, Texas and Colorado observed both. Calendar makers, who had already printed millions of calendars, were among the loudest critics. Roosevelt kept the earlier dates in 1940 (November 21) and 1941 (November 20) before Congress settled the matter for good.

Even then, not every state fell in line right away. In 1950, five states still held out for the last Thursday, and Texas observed two Thanksgiving Days.

From Plymouth to Lincoln: How the Holiday Took Shape

The event Americans call the first Thanksgiving was a harvest celebration at Plymouth in 1621. Plimoth Patuxet, the living history museum, dates it sometime between September 21 and November 9. Colonist Edward Winslow wrote that the Wampanoag leader Massasoit arrived “with some 90 men,” and the museum’s account counts at least 140 people in all, including little more than 50 English colonists who had survived the first winter.

The only eyewitness account mentions venison and wildfowl. Turkey was probable, but there was no pumpkin pie. The event only became known as the “First Thanksgiving” in the 19th century.

National days of thanks came and went after that. George Washington proclaimed one for Thursday, November 26, 1789, but later presidents chose dates as far apart as February and April. Editor Sarah Josepha Hale, author of “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” campaigned for a fixed national holiday from 1827 and wrote to Abraham Lincoln on September 28, 1863. Five days later, Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday of November as a day of thanksgiving, and apart from one early December date under Andrew Johnson, the tradition held until 1939.

Is the Day After Thanksgiving a Holiday?

Not federally. The Friday after Thanksgiving is not one of the 11 holidays in federal law. Markets stay open with shorter hours: the New York Stock Exchange closes early, at 1:00 p.m. Eastern, on Friday, November 27, 2026.

It is the biggest shopping day of the year. The National Retail Federation counted a record 202.9 million shoppers from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday in 2025, with Black Friday drawing 80.3 million in-store and 85.7 million online shoppers.

When Is Thanksgiving in Canada?

Canadian Thanksgiving is the second Monday in October, which means it always comes about six weeks before the U.S. holiday. In 2026 it fell on Monday, October 12, and in 2027 it falls on Monday, October 11. The table above lists the Canadian date for every year through 2035.

Canada settled on its date in 1957, when Thanksgiving was proclaimed an annual holiday on the second Monday of October. It is a statutory holiday in every province and territory except Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

Thanksgiving Day 2026: Parade and Football Schedule

Two traditions shape the day for millions of viewers, and both have milestones in 2026:

• The 100th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade starts at 8:30 a.m. in every time zone on NBC, Peacock and Telemundo, with a record 100 inflatables. Balloon inflation is on Wednesday, November 25. The first parade ran in 1924, and none was held from 1942 to 1944 during World War II.
• Lions vs. Bears in Detroit, the Lions’ 86th Thanksgiving game. Detroit has hosted on Thanksgiving since 1934, with a break from 1939 to 1944.
• Cowboys vs. Eagles in Dallas, which has played on Thanksgiving since 1966.
• Chiefs vs. Bills in the night game.

The NFL also adds two new bookends: its first Thanksgiving Eve game, Packers at Rams on Netflix on Wednesday, November 25, and a Black Friday game, Broncos at Steelers.

How the Presidential Turkey Pardon Started

Presidents received Thanksgiving turkeys for decades before any were spared. From 1873, Rhode Island poultry dealer Horace Vose supplied the White House bird, and the National Turkey Federation took over in 1947. John F. Kennedy sent one back in 1963 with the words “We’ll just let this one grow.”

The first formal pardon came from George H.W. Bush on November 14, 1989, who sent the bird to a farm park in Herndon, Virginia. The photo above shows the next year’s ceremony, and the pardon has been a fixture of Thanksgiving week ever since.

Planning Around Thanksgiving: Travel and Turkey by the Numbers

Thanksgiving is the busiest travel holiday of the year. AAA projected a record 81.8 million people would travel 50 miles or more over the 2025 holiday period, 73 million of them by car and about 6 million by air. The heaviest road traffic comes on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons, and Sunday and Monday are the busiest days for flights home.

If you are flying, check the rules before packing leftovers or a carry-on full of gifts; our guides to carry-on bag size limits and CLEAR vs. TSA PreCheck cover the airport side. On the table, Americans eat far less turkey than a decade ago: USDA figures put consumption at 13.1 pounds per person for 2025, down from 15.9 pounds in 2019.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Thanksgiving always on a Thursday?

Yes. Federal law fixes it on the fourth Thursday in November, so it falls between November 22 and November 28 every year.

When is Thanksgiving 2027?

Thanksgiving 2027 is Thursday, November 25. Black Friday follows on November 26, and Canadian Thanksgiving is Monday, October 11, 2027.

Why is Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday and not the last?

Congress chose “fourth” in 1941 so the date would not drift to November 29 or 30 in years with five Thursdays. The House had first voted for the last Thursday, but the Senate changed it.

Who made Thanksgiving a national holiday?

Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving in 1863 after a campaign by Sarah Josepha Hale. Congress made the fourth-Thursday date a permanent legal holiday in 1941.

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