Why is Thanksgiving on the fourth thursday of November? Here's the history behind the tradition

Thanksgiving doesn’t land on a fixed date, yet millions of Americans always mark the holiday on the same weekday each year. The fourth Thursday of November has become a tradition, one shaped by presidential proclamations, shifting state decisions, and finally, an act of Congress.


Thanksgiving stands apart from most major holidays in the U.S. While celebrations like Christmas and Valentine’s Day arrive on the same date every year, Thanksgiving shifts slightly, yet it never leaves its familiar place on the fourth Thursday of November. For generations, families have gathered on that day for turkey, stuffing, and beloved traditions. But the choice of date didn’t happen by accident. It was shaped over time by presidential decisions and, eventually, an act of Congress.


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Understanding why Thanksgiving lands where it does means looking back at the earliest proclamations and the political debates that followed. Here’s how the holiday found its permanent home on the calendar.

When was the first Thanksgiving declared?

The story begins in 1789, not with feasts or folklore, but with the newly formed U.S. government. According to the National Archives, President George Washington declared Thursday, Nov. 26, 1789, a "Day of Public Thanksgiving" at the request of the first Federal Congress. It marked the first time Thanksgiving was celebrated under the Constitution and the first time a president formally set the day.

Presidents after Washington continued issuing Thanksgiving proclamations, but there was no unified date. The observance shifted, sometimes landing in different months, depending on who held office. The lack of consistency meant that Thanksgiving could feel more like a suggestion than a national tradition, as per a report by Greenville News.

That changed in the midst of the Civil War.

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Has the holiday always fallen on the same week?

Stability began in 1863 when President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation that set Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday in November. His declaration helped establish a sense of national unity around the holiday, and the timing became widely accepted across the states.

But even with Lincoln’s guidance, Thanksgiving still wasn’t locked into federal law. Presidents continued to follow the tradition, yet there was no official ruling, which would become important decades later.

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A major shift arrived in 1939. According to the National Archives, the last Thursday of November that year fell on the month’s final day. To extend the Christmas shopping season, President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving to the second-to-last Thursday. The change sparked division. Thirty-two states adopted the new date, while sixteen stuck to the traditional last Thursday, leading to two different Thanksgiving observances depending on where you lived, as per a report by Greenville News.

The inconsistency made it clear that an official standard was needed.

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How did Thanksgiving land on the fourth Thursday?

By 1941, Congress stepped in to settle the confusion. The House of Representatives passed a joint resolution declaring Thanksgiving the last Thursday in November. The Senate amended it, changing the holiday to the fourth Thursday instead. Roosevelt signed the resolution that December, making the date official.

From that moment, Thanksgiving became permanently set as the fourth Thursday in November, a standard still recognized by the federal government today, as per a report by Greenville News.

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FAQs

Has Thanksgiving always been on the fourth Thursday of November?
No. Earlier presidents selected different dates until Lincoln’s 1863 proclamation established the fourth Thursday tradition.

When did Thanksgiving officially become the fourth Thursday?
Congress finalized the date in 1941, and it has remained the federal standard ever since.