Thanksgiving in the United States is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November each year.

Basic timing

  • The holiday is fixed to a weekday, not a date, so the calendar date changes annually but always falls between November 22 and November 28.
  • In 2025, for example, Thanksgiving will be on Thursday, November 27 in the United States.

How this date was set

  • Thanksgiving became a nationwide annual tradition in the 19th century, and President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a late-November Thanksgiving in 1863.
  • Congress later passed a law, effective from 1942, establishing the federal holiday on the fourth Thursday of November across the country.

Recent and upcoming dates

  • In 2024, Thanksgiving in the United States fell on Thursday, November 28.
  • In 2026, it will be observed on Thursday, November 26, continuing the pattern of the fourth Thursday in November.