Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is primaraly an annual American and Canadian holiday. Traditionally celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November in the USA and on the second Monday in October in Canada.

The observance celebrates the harvest, giving thanks for the blessings of the past year, and looking forward to good fortunes in the future.

Typical activities on Thanksgiving include eating turkey with friends and family, watching football games, playing outdoor games like touch football or hockey, having Thanksgiving Day Parades or attending Thanksgiving Day church services.

Origin of Thanksgiving Day

The first Thanksgiving Feast took place in 1621 when Plymouth (Massachusetts) settlers shared a harvest feast with members of local indigenous tribes. The celebration proved to be so successful that it became a yearly tradition.

The word “thanksgiving” is a translation of the 15th century phrase “act of thanksgiving.” Its true meaning is to give thanks to God for one's blessings, but in modern times it has come to be associated with feasting and sharing meals with family and friends.

When the first Thanksgiving feast was held, Plymouth Governor William Bradford wrote that “we begane to gather together such as was salvagable amongst our corn, which was not much, and soe we wente unto these Wigwams. These people were willing enough”.

In 1863, President Lincoln issued the first national Thanksgiving proclamation and Thanksgiving became an official holiday. In 1941, Thanksgiving became a federal holiday.

Thanksgiving Day Traditions

Thanksgiving is a time of family, fun and games. Families have different favourite Thanksgiving day games and activities to get the whole family in the right mood.

Some of the most common traditions on Thanksgiving Day, besides getting together with family members for dinner, are playing board games or cards, watching football games on TV, shopping at Black Friday sales (the day after Thanksgiving), cooking delicious food like turkey and mashed potatoes with gravy or pumpkin pie for dessert.

And last but not least, families gather around the TV to watch the amazing Thanksgiving Day Parade by Macy’s. It’s considered to be the largest parade in the world and the second oldest in the USA.

The Thanksgiving dinner

The turkey is what everyone looks forward to for Thanksgiving dinner.

Thanksgiving dinners are made up of traditional Thanksgiving dishes. These are often turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, stuffing, green beans with almonds and pearl onions in them mixed with butter and salt.

The following is a list of some Thanksgiving dishes:

• Stuffed turkey
• Stuffing
• Sweet Potatoes
• Mashed Potatoes
• Cranberry Sauce
• Green beans with almonds and pearl onions in them mixed with butter and salt

Thanksgiving and Black Friday

Black Friday is a day following after Thanksgiving Day in the United States, and is considered to be the beginning of the American Christmas shopping season. It has become a shopping holiday for retailers and shoppers alike, with many major retailers opening very early on Black Friday or staying open all night to accommodate the holiday shopping surge.

Canadian Thanksgiving is a bit different

The first celebration of Thanksgiving outside the United States was in 1872, when Canadian parliamentarian Nathaniel Conant suggested it as a gesture of goodwill to neighbor nation.

Although the origin and the reasons for celebrating Thanksgiving is more or less the same in the US and Canada, the Canadian celebration is more laid back. In the US for example, it’s normal for family members to travel home, even if they need to travel for hours. In Canada on the other hand, it’s more low key in that Thanksgiving is not that big a deal.

The fact that the Canadian thanksgiving is on a Monday also means that the Thanksgiving dinner often is scheduled for the weekend prior to the actual thanksgiving day.

In America, Thanksgiving is celebrated on a Thursday, and many people take the Friday and weekend off work to spend more time with friends and family. And off course shop like crazy on Black Friday.

Countries Celebrating Thanksgiving

Here are some of the countries around the world that celebrate Thanksgiving:

• Australia (celebrated the last Wednesday of November)
• Brazil (celebrated the fourth Thursday of November)
• Canada (celebrated the second Monday in October)
• Grenada (celebrated on October 25th)
• Liberia (celebrated on the first Thursday of November)
• Netherlands
• Philippines (celebrated September 21st)
• Rwanda (celebrated on the first Friday of August)
• Saint Lucia (celebrated on the first Monday in October)
• United States (celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November)

Banks and Schools are closed, most Stores are closed

As Thanksgiving is a federal holiday many banks and schools are closed. NYSE and NASDAQ will close early at 1:00 pm. As all non-essential federal workers have the day off, expect everything run by the federal government to be closed as well.

Most stores are closed on Thanksgiving. Expect stores like Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and Lowe’s to be closed. Stores like Walgreens, Dollar General, CVS, and ACME are open, but the opening hours may vary.

Varying Dates

Thanksgiving is not a holiday with a fixed calendar date, meaning the exact date varies depending on a rule. The rule for Thanksgiving is that the day is observed on the fourth Thursday of November. This, in turn, means that the date for this day can vary between November 22 and November 28. See the table below to find the exact date for the next few years.

Thanksgiving in other countries

This holiday is celebrated in several countries. Nine countries in our dataset around the world are celebrating or observing this day.

In the map below, you can see where the day is celebrated or marked. You can find the date by tapping the different colors on the map. You can also see if the day is a public holiday, an observed day, or a day only celebrated by parts of the country's population.

Note that the date of this holiday varies between countries even though the day celebrates the same thing.

This table gives a more detailed overview of when and where this holiday is celebrated or observed. Click on the country for more information.

Flag	Country	Holiday type	Date this year
	United States of America	Public holiday	November 28, 2024
	Canada	Public holiday	October 14, 2024
	Puerto Rico	Public holiday	November 28, 2024
	Grenada	Public holiday	October 25, 2024
	American Samoa	Public holiday	November 28, 2024
	Liberia	Public holiday	November 7, 2024
	Guam	Public holiday	November 28, 2024
	Virgin Islands, U.S.	Public holiday	November 28, 2024
	Saint Lucia	Public holiday	October 7, 2024

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