Thanksgiving is one of the most important holidays in the United States — a day of family, food and gratitude. In 2026 it falls on Thursday, 26 November. But where did it come from, and why a Thursday in late November? Here's the real history.
For the date comparison with Canada, see Thanksgiving 2026: US vs Canada, or the Thanksgiving holiday page.
When is Thanksgiving?
In the United States, Thanksgiving is always the fourth Thursday of November — so the date moves between 22 and 28 November each year.
| Year | US Thanksgiving |
|---|---|
| 2026 | Thursday, 26 November |
| 2027 | Thursday, 25 November |
| 2028 | Thursday, 23 November |
In Canada, Thanksgiving is earlier — the second Monday of October.
The first Thanksgiving, 1621
The holiday traces back to the autumn of 1621 in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The Pilgrims — English settlers who had arrived on the Mayflower in 1620 — held a three-day harvest feast to celebrate their first successful harvest in the New World.
Crucially, they shared it with about 90 members of the Wampanoag people, whose help — particularly teaching the settlers to grow corn — had been essential to their survival. The meal likely included venison, wild fowl and corn, rather than the turkey-and-pie menu of today.
Historians note that days of thanksgiving were common in many cultures; the 1621 feast became the symbolic "first Thanksgiving" largely through later retelling.
How it became a national holiday
For over two centuries, Thanksgiving was celebrated irregularly by different colonies and states. Two moments made it national:
- 1863 — During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving on the last Thursday of November, after a long campaign by writer Sarah Josepha Hale (author of "Mary Had a Little Lamb").
- 1941 — Congress fixed the date as the fourth Thursday of November, making it an official federal holiday.
Modern Thanksgiving traditions
- The feast: roast turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie.
- Family travel: Thanksgiving generates one of the busiest travel periods of the year in the US.
- Football and parades: the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York dates to 1924.
- Black Friday: the day after kicks off the holiday shopping season — see when is Black Friday 2026.
Quick answers
When is Thanksgiving 2026? Thursday, 26 November 2026 in the US (the fourth Thursday of November). In Canada it is the second Monday of October.
When was the first Thanksgiving? The autumn of 1621, a harvest feast shared by the Plymouth Pilgrims and the Wampanoag people.
Why is Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November? President Lincoln set a late-November Thanksgiving in 1863; Congress fixed it as the fourth Thursday in 1941.
Why do people eat turkey at Thanksgiving? Turkey became the centrepiece over time as a large, affordable native bird; the original 1621 feast more likely featured wild fowl and venison.