Why Is Thanksgiving on a Thursday? How the Date Was Set
Thanksgiving is on a Thursday because Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 proclamation named a Thursday, and it falls on the fourth Thursday of November because of a federal law passed in 1941. That law ended a brief and noisy fight over the calendar. If you’ve ever wondered who decided the date of Thanksgiving and why it sometimes seems to wander, the story involves a Civil War president, the Great Depression, a nickname that stuck and a Congress that wanted the question settled for good.
Contents
- Why Thanksgiving on Thursday Started With Lincoln
- FDR Moves the Date in 1939
- The “Franksgiving” Split
- Congress Fixes the Date in 1941
- A Quick Timeline
- Why the Date Changes Every Year
- FAQ
- Why is Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday?
- Who decided the Thanksgiving date?
- What is the Thanksgiving date law of 1941?
- What was Franksgiving?
Why Thanksgiving on Thursday Started With Lincoln
For much of early American history, there was no fixed national Thanksgiving. In 1789, President George Washington issued a proclamation for “a day of public thanksgiving and prayer,” at the request of Congress. Other presidents issued occasional proclamations, and states went their own ways.
Then came Sarah Josepha Hale, who wrote essays in 1827 calling for an annual national celebration. Beginning in 1846, she campaigned for a nationally observed Thanksgiving on the last Thursday of November, writing to presidents and other political leaders over many years. She later urged Lincoln to give the holiday national recognition so it could be held on the same day in all the states.
Lincoln did. On October 3, 1863, at the height of the Civil War, he issued a proclamation asking Americans to “set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a Day of Thanksgiving and Prayer.” The text was handwritten by Secretary of State William H. Seward and approved by Lincoln. Presidents after Lincoln issued a Thanksgiving proclamation every year and usually kept to his last-Thursday date.
The sources don’t say why Hale and Lincoln settled on Thursday specifically. What they do show is that the day stuck: the last Thursday of November became the prevailing tradition for decades, although there were occasional exceptions. In 1865, for example, Andrew Johnson set Thanksgiving for the first Thursday of December.
FDR Moves the Date in 1939
In 1939, the last Thursday of November fell on November 30. The country was in the final years of the Great Depression, and business leaders worried that Americans wouldn’t start holiday shopping until after Thanksgiving. They lobbied President Franklin D. Roosevelt to move the holiday up a week.
He agreed. Roosevelt announced the change on August 15, 1939, setting Thanksgiving for November 23, the second-to-last Thursday of the month. The goal was an extra seven days of Christmas shopping to help the economy.
Not everyone cheered. The short-notice change disrupted the holiday plans of millions of Americans. College football teams that traditionally ended their seasons with Thanksgiving rivalry games in full stadiums were affected, and calendar makers had problems too. Critics called Roosevelt an impulsive, “power-mad tyrant.”
The “Franksgiving” Split
The new date got a nickname: Franksgiving, a blend of “Franklin” and “Thanksgiving.” The nickname is commonly attributed to Charles D. White, the mayor of Atlantic City, in 1939.
The country divided over which Thursday to honor. According to the U.S. National Archives, 32 states issued proclamations following the president’s earlier date, while 16 refused and kept Thanksgiving on the last Thursday of November. A few states, including Texas, ended up observing both days. Exact state-by-state counts differ between historical sources, depending on how states that celebrated twice are classified.
Roosevelt continued the earlier-Thanksgiving policy in 1940, setting the holiday for November 21, the third Thursday of the month. Again, a number of states refused and kept the holiday on the last Thursday. Families, schools and businesses in different parts of the country were suddenly celebrating on different days.
Congress Fixes the Date in 1941
Until 1941, the president set the date for the Thanksgiving holiday. As Representative Michener put it during the House debate on October 6, 1941, “There appears to be no act of Congress that has ever designated a particular day as Thanksgiving Day.”
To end the confusion, Congress moved to fix the date. On October 6, 1941, the House of Representatives passed H.J. Res. 41 (77th Congress), which named the last Thursday of November as the legal Thanksgiving Day. The Senate amended it to the fourth Thursday of November, to account for years when November has five Thursdays. The House agreed to the change, and President Roosevelt signed the resolution into law on December 26, 1941. It took effect in 1942.
The debate shows what lawmakers wanted. Representative O’Hara said the “rather universal sentiment” was that the country should “return to the old custom of the last Thursday in November.” Senator Danaher said many House members thought Congress should fix the date and “remove it beyond the power of Executive interference.” The final law named the fourth Thursday, and from then on no president could move the holiday on his own.
A Quick Timeline
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1789 | George Washington issues a proclamation for “a day of public thanksgiving and prayer.” |
| 1846 | Sarah Josepha Hale begins a years-long campaign for a national Thanksgiving on the last Thursday of November. |
| 1863 | On October 3, Lincoln proclaims the last Thursday of November a day of Thanksgiving and Prayer. |
| 1939 | FDR moves the holiday to November 23, the second-to-last Thursday. “Franksgiving” is born. |
| 1940 | FDR again sets an earlier date, November 21, the third Thursday; a number of states keep the last Thursday. |
| 1941 | The House passes H.J. Res. 41 on October 6 (last Thursday); the Senate changes it to the fourth Thursday; Roosevelt signs it on December 26. |
| 1942 | The fourth-Thursday rule takes effect. |
Why the Date Changes Every Year
Thanksgiving is tied to a weekday, not a calendar number, so the date moves from year to year. The fourth Thursday of November can land anywhere from November 22 to November 28. In 2026, Thanksgiving is on November 26.
If you like a bit of calendar math, 2026 is a year where the fourth Thursday is also the last one, because November has only four Thursdays that year (the 5th, 12th, 19th and 26th). In some years there is a fifth Thursday, and then the fourth and last Thursdays are different days. That is exactly what happened in 1939, when the last Thursday was November 30 and the fourth was November 23.
FAQ
Why is Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday?
Because Congress set it that way. H.J. Res. 41, first passed by the House on October 6, 1941, amended by the Senate and signed by Roosevelt on December 26, 1941, made Thanksgiving a legal holiday on the fourth Thursday of November, starting in 1942. It replaced the earlier practice of the president choosing the date.
Who decided the Thanksgiving date?
Several people, over time. Lincoln’s 1863 proclamation chose the last Thursday of November, after Sarah Josepha Hale’s long campaign. Roosevelt moved it earlier in 1939 and 1940. Congress then fixed the date in law in 1941, taking the decision away from the president.
What is the Thanksgiving date law of 1941?
It is House Joint Resolution 41 of the 77th Congress. It established Thanksgiving Day as a legal holiday on the fourth Thursday of November. The House passed it on October 6, 1941, with the last Thursday; the Senate amended it to the fourth Thursday, Roosevelt signed it on December 26, 1941, and it took effect the following year, and it is why Thanksgiving always falls between November 22 and 28.
What was Franksgiving?
“Franksgiving” was the derisive nickname for Roosevelt’s 1939 decision to hold Thanksgiving on November 23 instead of November 30. For two years, some states celebrated on the earlier date and others on the later one, until Congress ended the split.
