The Moon & Saturn Meet Again
Don’t miss seeing the Moon and Saturn meet in the night sky for another close approach on December 7, 2024.
Thanksgiving Day in the United States is a holiday on the fourth Thursday of November. The day after is also known as Black Friday.
This is a state public holiday. State government offices are closed. Some schools and businesses may also be closed on this day.
Thanksgiving Day is a day for people in the US to give thanks for what they have. Families and friends get together for a meal, which traditionally includes a roast turkey, stuffing, potatoes, vegetables, cranberry sauce, gravy, and pumpkin pie.
In some cities and towns, there are parades during the Thanksgiving weekend. In most areas, these festivities also mark the opening of the Christmas shopping season.
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The Day After Thanksgiving, also known as Black Friday, is a holiday in more than 20 states. It's common to take trips and visit family and friends during the long weekend.
Most government offices, businesses, schools, universities, colleges, and other organizations are closed on Thanksgiving Day. Many offices and businesses allow staff to have a long four-day weekend for Thanksgiving, so these offices and businesses are also closed on the Day after Thanksgiving Day. Public transit systems usually do not operate on their regular timetables.
Thanksgiving Day is one of the busiest periods for travel in the USA. This can cause congestion and overcrowding. Seasonal parades and busy football games can also cause disruption to local traffic.
Thanksgiving Day has been an annual holiday in the United States since 1863. However, not everyone sees Thanksgiving Day as a cause for celebration. Some in the US Native American community feel the mythology of the holiday ignores the destruction of indigenous cultures that followed European settlement.
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Beginning in 1970, a group of Native Americans and their supporters have staged an annual protest for a National Day of Mourning at Plymouth Rock in Plymouth, Massachusetts on Thanksgiving Day. American Indian Heritage Day is also observed at this time of the year.
There are claims that the first Thanksgiving Day was held in the city of El Paso, Texas, in 1598. Another early event was held in 1619 in the Virginia Colony. Many people trace the origins of the modern Thanksgiving Day to the harvest celebration the Pilgrims held in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621. However, their first true thanksgiving was in 1623, when they gave thanks for rain that ended a drought. These early thanksgivings took the form of a special church service, rather than a feast.
In the second half of the 1600s, thanksgivings after the harvest became more common and started to become annual events. However, they were celebrated on different days in different communities and in some places there were more than one thanksgiving each year. George Washington, the first president of the United States, proclaimed the first national Thanksgiving Day in 1789.
Year | Weekday | Date | Name | Holiday Type | Area |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019 | Thu | Nov 28 | Thanksgiving Day | Federal Holiday | |
2020 | Thu | Nov 26 | Thanksgiving Day | Federal Holiday | |
2021 | Thu | Nov 25 | Thanksgiving Day | Federal Holiday | |
2021 | Thu | Nov 25 | Thanksgiving Day | State Holiday | All |
2022 | Thu | Nov 24 | Thanksgiving Day | Federal Holiday | |
2022 | Thu | Nov 24 | Thanksgiving Day | State Holiday | All |
2023 | Thu | Nov 23 | Thanksgiving Day | State Holiday | All |
2023 | Thu | Nov 23 | Thanksgiving Day | Federal Holiday | |
2024 | Thu | Nov 28 | Thanksgiving Day | State Holiday | All |
2024 | Thu | Nov 28 | Thanksgiving Day | Federal Holiday | |
2025 | Thu | Nov 27 | Thanksgiving Day | State Holiday | All |
2025 | Thu | Nov 27 | Thanksgiving Day | Federal Holiday | |
2026 | Thu | Nov 26 | Thanksgiving Day | Federal Holiday | |
2026 | Thu | Nov 26 | Thanksgiving Day | State Holiday | All |
2027 | Thu | Nov 25 | Thanksgiving Day | State Holiday | All |
2027 | Thu | Nov 25 | Thanksgiving Day | Federal Holiday | |
2028 | Thu | Nov 23 | Thanksgiving Day | State Holiday | All |
2028 | Thu | Nov 23 | Thanksgiving Day | Federal Holiday | |
2029 | Thu | Nov 22 | Thanksgiving Day | State Holiday | All |
2029 | Thu | Nov 22 | Thanksgiving Day | Federal Holiday |
While we diligently research and update our holiday dates, some of the information in the table above may be preliminary. If you find an error, please let us know.
Don’t miss seeing the Moon and Saturn meet in the night sky for another close approach on December 7, 2024.
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Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving Day in the USA. It is a busy shopping day and is a holiday in some states.