When is Thanksgiving?
Thanksgiving takes place annually on the fourth Thursday of November. Here are dates for upcoming Thanksgiving Days:
- Thanksgiving 2013: November 28
- Thanksgiving 2014: November 27
- Thanksgiving 2015: November 26
- Thanksgiving 2016: November 24
- Thanksgiving 2017: November 23
- Thanksgiving 2018: November 22
- Thanksgiving 2019: November 28
- Thanksgiving 2020: November 26
Why Does Thanksgiving Take Place on the Fourth Thursday in November?
President Abraham Lincoln issued the first Thanksgiving Proclamation on October 3, 1863, thereby making a "day of thanks" a federal holiday.
The day was celebrated on the last Thursday of November until 1939, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt, bowing to pressure from retailers, rescheduled the day so that it would not fall on November 30 (which would have reduced the number of shopping days until Christmas). Two years of Thanksgiving scheduling confusion followed until Congress established, on December 26, 1941, that Thanksgiving would henceforth be celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. Read more about the History of Thanksgiving.
Learn more about Thanksgiving and Where to Spend It