Here's When Thanksgiving Is in 2021, Plus Why the Date Changes Every Year
Just like so many holidays, it seems that Thanksgiving sneaks up on you every year. Where does the time go! If you’re like Ree Drummond, you like to plan out the entire Thanksgiving week so you make sure that you get all the cooking and baking for your Thanksgiving menu done in time. But, in order to make a schedule, there’s some vital information you need to know: What day is Thanksgiving in 2021? It may sound silly, but the date changes every year—sometimes quite drastically!—so it’s a valid question to ask.
Because Thanksgiving can fall early or late depending on the year, knowing how much time you have before Turkey Day is important in order to squeeze in all your favorite family Thanksgiving traditions. This might include watching Thanksgiving movies, sending out cards, or putting together festive crafts with your kids. And hey, you might even want to get a head start on your Christmas shopping—we wouldn’t blame you!
So, in order to know when you can start prepping your Thanksgiving desserts or when it’s time to order your bird, here’s when Thanksgiving falls in 2021. This year, Thanksgiving will be on Thursday, November 25 2021. While the latest date it can occur is the 28, the earliest is November 22. This year, it's only a few days away from December 1, which means no one will judge you if you turn on Christmas songs while you're munching on Thanksgiving leftovers.
Why is Thanksgiving on the 4th Thursday of November?
Every year, Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday of November. However, Thanksgiving used to be celebrated on the last Thursday of the month. In 1863, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln gave the Thanksgiving proclamation and asked for Americans to set aside the last Thursday of November as a day of Thanksgiving. After that, it became the norm to hold the holiday on that day.
However, in the 1930s, there were two years when Thanksgiving fell on the fifth Thursday of November, reports NPR. Business owners complained to President Franklin D. Roosevelt that this would hurt retailers because there was less time to shop for Christmas. To remedy this, Congress passed a law in 1941 that officially made Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday of every November. Whew!
Why is Thanksgiving always on a Thursday?
If you’ve ever wondered why Thanksgiving is on a Thursday instead of a Friday, you aren’t alone. It seems obvious to grant everyone an automatic three-day weekend!
Surprisingly, this tradition dates back to Puritan times. In the colonies, Thanksgivings were held periodically to give thanks for a “blessing,” according to Time. Melanie Kirkpatrick, author of Thanksgiving: The Holiday at the Heart of the American Experience, says that oftentimes these days of thanks fell on Thursdays. They avoided Fridays because it was a day of fasting in the Catholic Church—the Puritans probably wanted to avoid praying on a day holy to Catholics. And Saturdays weren't an option as they spent the day preparing for the Sabbath—which also left Sunday out of the question.
But hopefully for you, the Thursday holiday means you instead get a rare four-day weekend! After all, that Friday is the perfect time to get cozy and catch any Thanksgiving movies you might’ve missed.
