Thanksgiving Day
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Overview
A national holiday primarily celebrated in the United States and Canada as a day of giving thanks for the harvest and other blessings of the past year. It typically involves a large family meal, often featuring turkey, and reflection on gratitude and community.
Origin and story
The first Thanksgiving feast shared by the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag people in 1621 lasted three days.
While turkey is iconic, historical accounts suggest that venison and seafood, such as fish and lobster, were also prominent at early colonial harvest feasts.
Quick facts
- DateNovember 27
- TypeNational / cultural holiday
- Great forFamilies, Community groups, Coworkers
Also on this date
Ways to celebrate
Before Thanksgiving had a fixed date, the country once celebrated it twice in the same year — on two different Thursdays, depending on which state you lived in.
From a shifting proclamation to a fixed date
George Washington issued the first national Thanksgiving proclamation in 1789, but for decades afterward, each president set their own date, and some skipped it entirely. Abraham Lincoln's 1863 proclamation finally made it an annual event on the last Thursday of November — until 1939, when Franklin D. Roosevelt moved it up a week to extend the Christmas shopping season and boost the Depression-era economy. Sixteen states refused to go along with "Franksgiving," so for two years the U.S. genuinely had two competing Thanksgivings on two different Thursdays.
How Congress finally settled it
To end the confusion, Congress stepped in: the House passed a resolution fixing the last Thursday of November as the legal holiday, but the Senate amended it to the fourth Thursday instead, to account for years when November has five Thursdays. Roosevelt signed the compromise into law on December 26, 1941, permanently setting the date still used today.
Ways to mark the day
- Share the Franksgiving/two-Thanksgivings story at the table — most people have never heard it.
- Do one quiet favor for a friend, neighbor, or coworker.
- Look up how your own state responded during the 1939-1941 Franksgiving split.
Did you know?
The first Thanksgiving feast shared by the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag people in 1621 lasted three days.
Fun facts
- The first Thanksgiving feast shared by the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag people in 1621 lasted three days.
- While turkey is iconic, historical accounts suggest that venison and seafood, such as fish and lobster, were also prominent at early colonial harvest feasts.
- Sarah Josepha Hale, the author of 'Mary Had a Little Lamb,' campaigned for 36 years to make Thanksgiving a national holiday.
- The annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City began in 1924, originally featuring animals from the Central Park Zoo.
- In the US, two turkeys are 'pardoned' by the President each year, a tradition that became official in 1989.
- Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving on the second Monday of October, a tradition that dates back to 1879, earlier than the US national holiday.
Sources and attribution
Thanksgiving: Tradition, Origins & Meaning (HISTORY)
Congress Establishes Thanksgiving (National Archives)
External links may lead to third-party websites.
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FAQ
- When is Thanksgiving Day?
- It is observed on the fourth Thursday of November each year.
- What is Thanksgiving Day?
- A national holiday primarily celebrated in the United States and Canada as a day of giving thanks for the harvest and other blessings of the past year. It typically involves a large family meal, often featuring turkey, and reflection on gratitude and community.
- How do people celebrate Thanksgiving Day?
- People gather for a meal and give thanks, and many learn the surprising legislative history: the date wasn't fixed until 1941, after FDR's 1939 attempt to move it a week earlier split the country into two competing Thanksgivings for two years.
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