Believe it or not, Thanksgiving is next month. While there are still two more federal holidays before then, plus Halloween, it may be a good idea to start planning family gatherings.
When is Thanksgiving this year, and why is it always on a Thursday? Here’s what to know.
This year, Thanksgiving falls on Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025.
Today, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the last Thursday in November — but it wasn’t always observed then. Here’s a timeline, as reported by Britannica:
While the widely known “first” Thanksgiving between the Pilgrims and indigenous peoples occurred in Massachusetts, it can be argued that the first celebration of that sort unfolded 80 years prior — in what is now Texas.
The 1621 feast shared between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag people in Plymouth took place several decades after a similar ceremony, which is often overlooked yet nonetheless marks a significant moment in history, according to the Library of Congress.
In May 1541, Spanish explorer Francisco Vásquez de Coronado led an expedition of approximately 1,500 men through the Texas Panhandle in search of the legendary Seven Cities of Gold. After enduring months of grueling travel and harsh conditions, the group stopped in Palo Duro Canyon to hold a thanksgiving celebration, expressing gratitude for their survival and reaffirming their faith.
To honor this early moment of thanks, a historical marker was placed in 1959 at a crossing in Palo Duro Canyon, now part of Palo Duro State Park near Amarillo, the Texas Society Daughters of the American Colonists wrote online. The marker commemorates the event, proclaimed as a day of prayer and feasting by Padre Fray Juan de Padilla for Coronado and his men — about 79 years before the Pilgrims’ iconic gathering in Massachusetts.
