Thanksgiving Countdown

Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States, a feast built around gratitude, family and a very large turkey. This countdown is to Thanksgiving 2026 on November 26, 2026, updating automatically each year.

How many days until Thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving is on Thursday, November 26, 2026, which is 126 days away. The live countdown above ticks down to the exact moment, to the second.

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Thanksgiving's story so far

1621English colonists at Plymouth and roughly 90 Wampanoag led by the sachem Massasoit (Ousamequin) shared a three-day autumn harvest gathering — the event now remembered as the 'First Thanksgiving,' though no one called it that at the time.

1827-1863Magazine editor Sarah Josepha Hale campaigned for decades — first in her 1827 novel Northwood, then annually in Godey's Lady's Book — petitioning governors and five successive presidents to establish one fixed national Thanksgiving date.

1939To extend the Christmas shopping season during the Depression, FDR moved Thanksgiving a week earlier to November's next-to-last Thursday. The switch, mocked as 'Franksgiving,' left 22 states on the new date, 23 on the old one, and three observing both.

1941After two years of a split holiday, Congress passed a joint resolution — signed into law by Roosevelt on December 26, 1941 — permanently fixing Thanksgiving as the fourth Thursday in November nationwide.

1947The National Turkey Federation presented President Truman with the first 'National Thanksgiving Turkey,' starting an annual White House photo tradition, though Truman himself is not documented as having spared any bird.

1953After Thanksgiving turkey sales left Swanson with 260 tons of unsold birds, salesman Gerry Thomas helped devise the three-compartment frozen tray that became the Swanson TV Dinner, launching the frozen-meal industry.

1989President George H.W. Bush was the first to formally declare a turkey 'pardoned,' sending it to live out its days on a farm — turning earlier informal gestures by JFK and Reagan into the annual tradition still practiced today.

Thanksgiving superlatives

Heaviest turkey ever recorded86 lb (39.09 kg), a stag named Tyson raised by Philip Cook of Leacroft Turkeys in Peterborough, UK, auctioned for charity in London on December 12, 1989 — a record still unbeaten decades later

Largest pumpkin pie ever baked3,699 lb (1,678 kg), made by the New Bremen Giant Pumpkin Growers in New Bremen, Ohio, on September 25, 2010

Largest gathering of people dressed as turkeys661 participants at the Dallas YMCA Turkey Trot on November 24, 2011

From Plymouth to a national holiday

The 1621 harvest feast shared by the Plymouth colonists and the Wampanoag is the traditional origin story. Sarah Josepha Hale campaigned for decades to make it national, and Abraham Lincoln proclaimed it a nationwide holiday in 1863, in the middle of the Civil War.

Modern traditions

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has marched since 1924, the presidential turkey pardon became an annual ritual, and football and Black Friday shopping now bracket the meal. Canada celebrates its own Thanksgiving on the second Monday of October.

Quick facts

Made a national holiday by Lincoln in 1863
Fixed to the fourth Thursday of November in 1941
The Macy's parade has run since 1924
About 46 million turkeys are eaten each Thanksgiving

A U.S. federal holiday

Thanksgiving is one of the 11 official U.S. federal holidays. Not sure which one comes next? The next federal holiday countdown always ticks down to whichever is soonest — and the next long weekend countdown tells you when you're off work for 3 days straight.

Talk turkey

Everything for the big dinner — including the pants with room for seconds.

Turkey roasting pan Meat thermometer Stretchy-waist pants Gravy boat Casserole dish set Family board games

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Thanksgiving — frequently asked questions

When is Thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving is on Thursday, November 26, 2026.

How many days until Thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving is on Thursday, November 26, 2026, which is 126 days away. The live countdown above ticks down to the exact moment, to the second.

Updated July 2026 · alarm-clock.org

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