What is Thanksgiving?
American Thanksgiving recalls the harvest feast that the English settlers of Plymouth Colony shared with the Wampanoag people in the autumn of 1621. Days of thanksgiving were held now and then for two centuries, until President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day in 1863, during the Civil War. In 1941 Congress fixed it on the fourth Thursday of November.
Canada celebrates its own Thanksgiving earlier, on the second Monday of October, closer to the end of its shorter northern harvest. The story of the holiday is told differently by different people: since 1970, some Native Americans have marked the same day as a National Day of Mourning at Plymouth.
When is Thanksgiving? Dates for 2026 and 2027
2026
- Monday 12 October 2026Thanksgiving in Canada
- Thursday 26 November 2026Thanksgiving in the United States
2027
- Monday 11 October 2027Thanksgiving in Canada
- Thursday 25 November 2027Thanksgiving in the United States
Both dates follow fixed rules: the fourth Thursday of November in the United States, and the second Monday of October in Canada.
How people celebrate
- Roast turkey with stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin or pecan pie.
- Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York, with its giant balloons, held since 1924, and American football on television.
- Going round the table so that everyone says what they are thankful for this year.
Good to know
- Travelling over Thanksgiving? The Wednesday before and the Sunday after are among the busiest days of the year at US airports and on the roads.
- The day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday, has become the start of the Christmas shopping season.
- In Canada the holiday is on a Monday, so many families have the big meal on the Sunday or the Monday of the long weekend.