Thanksgiving countdown
US Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday of November, a rule set by federal law in 1941. The next one is Thursday, November 26, 2026, and the timer counts down to midnight at the start of that day in your time zone.
Countdowns run on your device's clock and time zone, so they reach zero at local midnight wherever you are.
How the date of Thanksgiving is set
Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving in 1863 for the last Thursday of November, and later presidents kept that custom. In 1939 November had five Thursdays, and Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the holiday a week earlier to lengthen the Christmas shopping season. Some states followed him and others did not, so for two years Americans celebrated on different days. Congress settled it with a law passed in December 1941, making the fourth Thursday of November the legal holiday from 1942 onward.
Because November 1 can fall on any weekday, the fourth Thursday always lands between November 22 and November 28. The next dates are November 26, 2026, November 25, 2027, November 23, 2028, November 22, 2029 and November 28, 2030. Canada celebrates its own Thanksgiving much earlier, on the second Monday of October.
Upcoming Thanksgiving (US) dates
| Date | Weekday | Days until |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday | in 38 days | |
| Thursday | in 402 days | |
| Thursday | in 766 days | |
| Thursday | in 1,130 days | |
| Thursday | in 1,501 days |
Travel and preparation
Thanksgiving week is one of the busiest travel periods of the year in the United States. The Wednesday before and the Sunday after are typically the most crowded days at airports and on highways, so flying on the Monday or Tuesday, or on Thanksgiving morning itself, is often calmer and sometimes cheaper. Booking flights several weeks ahead is the usual advice.
A frozen turkey needs about a day in the refrigerator for every four to five pounds, so a 20-pound bird should go into the fridge on the Saturday or Sunday before. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, held in Manhattan since 1924, starts in the morning Eastern time; if you are watching from abroad, the current time in New York tells you how far away it is.
Other countdowns
Frequently asked questions
- How many days until Thanksgiving?
- The timer at the top shows the days, hours, minutes and seconds until Thanksgiving Day starts in your time zone. The next Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26, 2026.
- Why is Thanksgiving always on a Thursday?
- Lincoln's 1863 proclamation chose the last Thursday of November, and the 1941 federal law kept the weekday but fixed it to the fourth Thursday, so it can never move to another day of the week.
- What was Franksgiving?
- The nickname for Thanksgiving in 1939 and 1940, when President Roosevelt moved it one week earlier. The split between states that followed him and those that did not led Congress to set the fourth Thursday by law.
- What is the latest possible date for Thanksgiving?
- November 28, in years when November 1 is a Friday. The earliest is November 22, when November 1 is a Thursday.
- Is the Friday after Thanksgiving a day off?
- It is not a federal holiday, but many states and private employers give it as a paid day off, and it is also Black Friday, the traditional start of holiday shopping.