Countdown to Thanksgiving

Days, hours, minutes, and seconds until US Thanksgiving — the fourth Thursday of November every year. Canadian Thanksgiving falls earlier, on the second Monday of October.

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When is Thanksgiving this year?

United States: the fourth Thursday of November. The exact date moves each year — sometimes it's the 22nd, sometimes the 28th — but it's always a Thursday near the end of November.

Canada: the second Monday of October. Roughly six weeks earlier than the American version, on a Monday rather than a Thursday.

The American Thanksgiving

US Thanksgiving traces back to a 1621 harvest feast shared between English settlers at Plymouth Colony and the Wampanoag people. That first gathering wasn't called "Thanksgiving" at the time — it became part of the holiday's origin story much later, in the 19th century, when American writers and editors started promoting it as a defining national tradition.

The holiday became official in 1863, when Abraham Lincoln declared a national day of Thanksgiving during the Civil War, urging Americans to give thanks "in the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity." From then until 1941, the President proclaimed the date each year. In 1939, Franklin D. Roosevelt moved it from the last Thursday of November to the second-to-last, hoping to extend the Christmas shopping season — a move so unpopular it took an act of Congress to settle it. The fourth Thursday of November has been the legal date since 1941.

The Canadian Thanksgiving

Canadian Thanksgiving has a different origin and a different date. The earliest recorded Canadian thanksgiving was held in 1578 by the English explorer Martin Frobisher and his crew, after they safely reached the Eastern Arctic on a voyage searching for the Northwest Passage. That predates the Pilgrims by 43 years.

Canada's Thanksgiving became a regular harvest celebration in the 19th century and an official statutory holiday in 1879. The date moved around for decades — sometimes November, sometimes a different October weekend — until 1957, when Parliament fixed it on the second Monday of October. That's when Canada's harvest is at its peak (autumn arrives earlier the further north you go), and a Monday gives Canadians a three-day weekend.

Why the two countries celebrate on different dates

Two reasons:

  • The harvest comes earlier in Canada. Most of Canada is north of the contiguous US, so autumn arrives sooner. Holding the harvest celebration in mid-October matches the agricultural calendar; pushing it to late November (US-style) would put it well after the actual harvest in most provinces.
  • Different origin stories. US Thanksgiving is tied to the Pilgrim narrative and was set in the autumn cycle of harvest festivals familiar from 17th-century England. Canadian Thanksgiving's roots are earlier (Frobisher 1578) and were less mythologised — it stayed more flexible until 1957.

Thanksgiving and Black Friday

In the US, Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving — the Friday immediately following the fourth Thursday of November. It marks the unofficial start of the Christmas shopping season and has become the year's biggest single shopping day. See our Countdown to Black Friday page for the live countdown and origin story.

Canada doesn't have an equivalent shopping day attached to its own Thanksgiving. Many Canadian retailers now run Black Friday sales aligned with the US date (late November), which means there's roughly a six-week gap between Canadian Thanksgiving and Canada's biggest shopping day. The two events aren't linked the way they are in the US.

How the holiday is celebrated

The food is broadly similar in both countries — roast turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. The differences are mostly about what's seasonal:

  • US Thanksgiving meals often include sweet potatoes (with or without marshmallows), pecan pie, and green bean casserole — late-November American classics.
  • Canadian Thanksgiving meals tend to feature more squash, root vegetables, and apple-based desserts — produce at its peak in early October.

Other traditions: the US has the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York, NFL football games on Thanksgiving Day, and the presidential turkey pardon. Canada has the Canadian Football League's Thanksgiving Day Classic games and is generally a quieter family weekend without the large televised spectacles.

Travel and planning tips

  • US Thanksgiving = the busiest travel period of the year. The Tuesday and Wednesday before are the heaviest air-travel days; Sunday after is the worst for return trips. Book at least a month ahead, expect higher fares, and consider flying on Thanksgiving Day itself (lighter traffic, lower prices).
  • Canadian Thanksgiving travel is much lighter — it's a regular three-day weekend, not a near-week-long pilgrimage. Major highways into cottage country (Ontario's Muskoka and Quebec's Laurentians) get busier than usual, but air travel is mostly normal.
  • Watch the date. Because US Thanksgiving moves between the 22nd and 28th of November, the gap between it and Christmas varies by almost a week each year — affecting retail planning, vacation overlap, and shipping deadlines.

Track this countdown

The countdown above ticks live in your browser, automatically rolling to next year's Thanksgiving once this year's has passed — so this page never goes stale. To save a permanent shareable link, use the Open in Countdown Timer button at the top. You can edit the title and copy a share link from there.

Frequently asked questions

When is Thanksgiving this year?

In the United States, Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday of November every year. In Canada, it falls on the second Monday of October. The exact date changes each year because both holidays are tied to a specific day of the week, not a fixed calendar date.

Why is Canadian Thanksgiving on a different date from American Thanksgiving?

Canadian Thanksgiving is roughly six weeks earlier than the US version because the Canadian harvest happens earlier in the year — autumn arrives sooner at higher latitudes. The two holidays also have different origin stories: Canada traces its first thanksgiving to Martin Frobisher's 1578 expedition giving thanks for safe arrival in Newfoundland, while the US version is tied to the Pilgrims' 1621 harvest feast in Plymouth.

Is Thanksgiving a federal holiday?

Yes. In the US, Thanksgiving has been a federal holiday since 1863 (declared by Abraham Lincoln) and the fourth-Thursday-of-November rule has been law since 1941. In Canada, Thanksgiving has been a statutory holiday since 1879, with the second-Monday-of-October date set in 1957.

When is Black Friday in relation to Thanksgiving?

Black Friday is always the day after US Thanksgiving — so the Friday after the fourth Thursday of November. Canada doesn't have an equivalent shopping day tied to its own Thanksgiving, though many Canadian retailers now run Black Friday sales aligned with the US date.

Do Americans and Canadians eat the same foods on Thanksgiving?

Largely yes — roast turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie are the centrepiece of both. Canadian Thanksgiving meals tend to feature more squash and root vegetables (harvest produce that's at its peak in early October), while US meals often include sweet potatoes and pecan pie.

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