Illustration by Zoë Petersen

Thanksgiving is coming soon. So that means side dishes and turkey are on the way. But what day will it happen?

Thanksgiving is almost here.

Thanksgiving is only a few weeks away. With Halloween over, all eyes turn toward the late-fall and winter holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas. That’s right — your annual family holidays are on the way.

When is Thanksgiving 2021?

Thanksgiving happens on Thursday, Nov. 25.

  • Thanksgiving always happens on the fourth Thursday of the month, so the date is always changing.
  • Last year, Thanksgiving fell on Nov. 26.

Why is Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November?

It’s a long story. But basically, Sarah Josepha Hale, who wrote “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” wrote newspaper columns calling on the government to make Thanksgiving a national holiday, per GoodHousekeeping.com.

In 1863, then-President Abraham Lincoln designated the final Thursday of the month as Thanksgiving. He said the national holiday was meant to ask God to “commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife” and to “heal the wounds of the nation.”

  • He also asked people to give thanks to the Union Army for winning the Civil War battle at Gettysburg.

Interestingly, Thanksgiving was also deemed a national day of gratitude by former President George Washington, who called on people to be thankful for winning the Revolutionary War.

Was Thanksgiving always on the final Thursday of November?

Actually, no. In 1939, former President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the holiday to the second-to-last Thursday for economic reasons, hoping people would have more time to shop between Thanksgiving and Christmas (honestly surprised this hasn’t happened again). But there was a lot of blowback from Americans, who called the holiday “Franksgiving,” according to Vox.

When is Thanksgiving 2021 again?

Thanksgiving happens on the fourth Thursday of the month. For 2021, Thanksgiving will happen on Thursday, Nov. 25.



Thanksgiving Day is coming soon. When is it?
Source: Gabriella Pinoys