When is Thanksgiving 2023? Everything to know on the date and history (2024)

Turkey Day is quickly approaching and if you're wondering, "What day is Thanksgiving this year?" Don't worry, you've still got time to make plans and, better yet, thaw the turkey.

Whether your Turkey Day tradition is to spend the annual holiday with relatives or host Friendsgiving for all your pals, you're probably wondering when Thanksgiving is so you can get all the details squared away in advance of the big day.

Fortunately, we've got everything you need to know on when the holiday lands in 2023. We've also got some interesting facts on why we gather with friends and family to feast on pumpkin pie and stuffing each November.

Ahead, you'll also find some fascinating Thanksgiving trivia on everything from where the Pilgrims first landed in America (Spoiler: it wasn't Plymouth Rock) to which U.S. president declared Thanksgiving a national holiday, giving most everybody a day off in order to eat too much food, then sleep it off while watching movies on the couch.

Dare we say, we've got a cornucopia of fun and useful information, right down to what days Black Friday and Cyber Monday fall on this year. Because, well, shopping.

Whatever you've come here for, we've got it, which means you can put a little time back in the Thanksgiving bank for all the fun Turkey Day activities coming up. And that's something to be thankful for.

What day is Thanksgiving on in 2023?

First things first. Thanksgiving always falls on the fourth Thursday in November. So, given that there are five weeks in November, the holiday can sometimes arrive as early as November 22, or as late as November 28.

In 2023, Thanksgiving Day is on Thursday, November 23.

Last year, Thanksgiving was on November 24 and in 2024, it'll be a bit later than usual, landing on November 28. So heads up shoppers: Next year there will be fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas to get all your holiday shopping completed.

Why is Thanksgiving celebrated on a Thursday?

More than 230 years ago, President George Washington designated November 26 as a day of National Thanksgiving in 1789.

But long before then, American colonists had been gathering to celebrate the bounty reaped from their annual harvest with the first recorded Thanksgiving occurring in 1621.

However, according to the Washington Post, it may have even been earlier than that, with historians suggesting that settlers put on a Thanksgiving feast as early as 1565.

While November 26 was initial date of the holiday, in October of 1863, Abraham Lincoln signed a proclamation, designating the last Thursday in November as a day to observe Thanksgiving.

The edict stuck until 1939, when the last Thursday in November happened to coincide with the last day of the month, dramatically shortening the Christmas shopping season and potentially impacting the nation's economic recovery from the Great Depression.

So, in 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt signed a resolution declaring the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving and the decree still stands today.

Interesting history facts about Thanksgiving

When it comes to Thanksgiving history, most people have the basics down, like the Pilgrims came to America aboard the Mayflower and landed at Plymouth Rock.

Except that's not quite what happened. Though the early settlers did ultimately end up at Plymouth Rock, their first stop was along Cape Cod in Provincetown in 1620, according to the Boston Globe. After staying for more than five weeks, they determined the sandy terrain wasn't ideal for planting crops, and moved on.

The first recorded Thanksgiving between the settlers and Native Americans happened a year later, but unlike the table-sprawling turkey feasts held by Americans each year, they likely dined on venison, goose, duck, fish, and a porridge made from corn.

Wondering which Native American tribe early Americans shared that first three-day feast with? Or what about how many Pilgrims attended the celebration?

We've got the answers to those and many other fascinating Thanksgiving trivia questions right here.

When is Black Friday and Cyber Monday in 2023?

Now that you know when Thanksgiving is this year, naturally you might be curious to know when Black Friday and Cyber Monday are to ensure you're ready to score all the good deals before they're gone.

So, without further ado, here are the dates:

In 2023, Black Friday is Friday, November 24 and Cyber Monday falls on Monday, November 27.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com

When is Thanksgiving 2023? Everything to know on the date and history (2024)

FAQs

When is Thanksgiving 2023? Everything to know on the date and history? ›

In 2023, Thanksgiving Day is on Thursday, November 23. Last year, Thanksgiving was on November 24 and in 2024, it'll be a bit later than usual, landing on November 28. So heads up shoppers: Next year there will be fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas to get all your holiday shopping completed.

Why is Thanksgiving 2023 not the last Thursday of November? ›

The Senate amended the resolution making the holiday the fourth Thursday in November, and Roosevelt signed it in December 1941. Today, Thanksgiving is recognized by the federal government to fall on the fourth Thursday of November.

Which president refused to recognize Thanksgiving? ›

While Thanksgiving technically isn't a religious holiday, the “giving thanks” part of it struck Jefferson as being far too religious for his tastes. As our nation's third president, he stirred controversy by refusing to recognize Thanksgiving.

What is the official date of Thanksgiving when did that date become official? ›

On October 3, 1863, during the Civil War, Lincoln proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving to be celebrated on Thursday, November 26. The holiday was annually proclaimed by every president thereafter, and the date chosen, with few exceptions, was the last Thursday in November.

What date is Thanksgiving historical? ›

On October 3, 1863, buoyed by the Union victory at Gettysburg, President Lincoln proclaimed that November 26, would be a national Thanksgiving Day, to be observed every year on the fourth Thursday of November. Only twice has a president changed the day of observation. President Franklin D.

Why is Thanksgiving 2024 so late? ›

In 2024, Thanksgiving will be observed on Thursday, November 28. This is the LATEST that Thanksgiving can ever be held. Thanksgiving has been held on the fourth Thursday in November since 1941, which means that the actual date of the holiday shifts each year.

Who changed Thanksgiving to the third Thursday? ›

In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln designated the national day of Thanksgiving to be the last Thursday in November. Come 1938, President Roosevelt changed it to the third Thursday in November, but it wasn't very popular, the Farmer's Almanac says. Three years later, it was changed to the fourth Thursday in November.

Which president moved Thanksgiving twice? ›

They asked Franklin Roosevelt to make Thanksgiving one week earlier. President Roosevelt ignored those concerns in 1933, but when Thanksgiving once again threatened to fall on the last day of November in 1939, FDR reconsidered the request and moved the date of Thanksgiving up one week.

Which president declared two Thanksgivings in one year? ›

Eighty years ago, a holiday quirk occurred. The year 1939 featured not one, but two, Thanksgivings. President Franklin Roosevelt was busy trying to both drag the country out of the Great Depression and to prepare the nation for the war clouds gathering on the horizon.

What president didn't like Thanksgiving? ›

But decades later, when Jefferson was president, he had turned against thanksgiving proclamations — privately complaining about them before publicly condemning them toward the end of his term.

Which president started the Thanksgiving holiday? ›

A few days later, President George Washington issued a proclamation naming Thursday, November 26, 1789 as a "Day of Publick Thanksgivin" - the first time Thanksgiving was celebrated under the new Constitution.

What is the true story behind Thanksgiving? ›

As the story goes, friendly Native Americans taught the struggling colonists how to survive in what the Europeans called the New World. Then everyone got together to celebrate with a feast in 1621. Thanksgiving 2022 would mark the 401st anniversary of that "first" American Thanksgiving.

What Native American tribe celebrated the first Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims? ›

As was the custom in England, the Pilgrims celebrated their harvest with a festival. The 50 remaining colonists and roughly 90 Wampanoag tribesmen attended the "First Thanksgiving."

What food was eaten at the first Thanksgiving? ›

But according to the two only remaining historical records of the first Thanksgiving menu, that meal consisted of freshly killed deer, assorted wildfowl, cod, bass, and flint, and a native variety of corn harvested by the Native Americans, which was eaten as corn bread and porridge.

Do Native Americans celebrate Thanksgiving? ›

While some Native Americans have chosen to reject the Thanksgiving holiday entirely, many embrace the positive messages of the day and choose to put aside thoughts about its complex history. This is because the idea of giving thanks is central to Native heritage and culture.

Why do we eat turkey on Thanksgiving? ›

Thanksgiving-type celebrations were common at the turn of the 19th century with many opting to put a turkey on the table instead of slaughtering a useful animal like a hen or cow that was producing other needed products, according to Britannica. Turkeys at the time, and still today, were raised to be meat birds.

Is Thanksgiving always on the last Thursday in November? ›

Finally, the battle of dates ended when Congress passed a law on December 26, 1941, setting the date of Thanksgiving as the fourth Thursday in November. The law was made official by President Roosevelt and since then Thanksgiving has always been celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November.

Which president finalized Thanksgiving as the last Thursday of November? ›

It wasn't until President Abraham Lincoln's 1863 Proclamation that Thanksgiving was regularly commemorated each year on the last Thursday of November.

How often will my birthday fall on Thanksgiving? ›

In the short term (that is, from 1901 to 2099) there's a leap year every four years, and your birthday will be on Thanksgiving four times out of every 28: If your birthday falls on Thanksgiving in a given year, then it falls on Thanksgiving again exactly 28 years later, and three other times in between at intervals of ...

Why does the date of Thanksgiving always change? ›

Franklin Roosevelt observed Thanksgiving on the second to last Thursday of November for two more years, but the amount of public outrage prompted Congress to pass a law on December 26, 1941, ensuring that all Americans would celebrate a unified Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November every year.

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