Why is Thanksgiving so late this year?

Thanksgiving is a day when families across the country spend time together and enjoy a large meal, usually turkey, complemented by many side dishes.

But as people start making their plans and start meal prepping and grocery shopping, they may notice that the holiday falls later in November this year.

When is Thanksgiving this year?

Thanksgiving takes place on November 28, 2024. In 2023 the day was celebrated on November 23rd and in 2022 on November 24th.

Why is Thanksgiving late this year?

This year, Thanksgiving falls on the latest possible date. Normally the holiday occurs on the fourth Thursday in November, but the dates can change depending on which day of the week November 1 falls on, which in turn can be postponed later by leap years. And in 2024 there was actually a leap year.

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A November 28th Thanksgiving occurs approximately every five to six years, meaning the holiday will next fall on November 28th in 2030.

Why is Thanksgiving celebrated on Thursday?

President George Washington issued a proclamation declaring Thursday, November 26, 1789, a “Day of Public Thanksgiving”—the first time Thanksgiving was celebrated, according to the new Constitution National Archives.

Other presidents issued Thanksgiving proclamations, but the dates and months of celebration differed. But President Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 proclamation stated that Thanksgiving would be celebrated regularly on the last Thursday of November each year.

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The National Archives noted that Congress later decided to set a fixed date for the holiday. On October 6, 1941, the House of Representatives passed a joint resolution declaring the last Thursday in November a legal Thanksgiving holiday. However, the Senate changed the resolution designating the holiday as the fourth Thursday to accommodate some years in which November has five Thursdays.

Additionally, the House of Representatives approved the amendment, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the resolution on December 26, 1941, declaring the fourth Thursday in November a federal holiday, Thanksgiving Day.