Countdown

Time until Thanksgiving

The fourth Thursday in November, so the date moves every year.

Counting down to Thanksgiving

Thursday, 26 November 2026

Days

Hours

Minutes

Seconds

Midnight at the start of Thursday, 26 November 2026

Counting from your device clock.

What is Thanksgiving?

American Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday in November, which puts it between the 22nd and the 28th. Lincoln fixed it as the last Thursday in 1863, and Congress settled on the fourth Thursday in 1941 after Franklin Roosevelt tried moving it earlier to lengthen the shopping season. Because the rule is positional rather than a fixed date, this countdown works out the weekday for each year rather than looking up a table. Canadian Thanksgiving is a separate holiday on the second Monday in October.

The next one falls on Thursday, 26 November 2026, and this page counts down to the midnight that starts it in whatever time zone your browser reports. For a date of your own, the deadline countdown takes any target and tracks progress against it.

Frequently asked questions

How is this countdown calculated?

The target is midnight at the start of Thursday, 26 November 2026, read in your device's own time zone rather than in a fixed one. Two people opening this page in London and Tokyo see different amounts of time left, because their local midnights are nine hours apart. Nothing is sent anywhere: the clock in your browser does the arithmetic.

What happens once the date has passed?

The page rolls to the next occurrence on its own. Every date here is worked out from a rule rather than looked up in a table, so once Thanksgiving is behind you the countdown restarts against the following one without anybody updating the site. If you leave the tab open overnight, it rolls over while you watch.

Why does it read zero on the day itself?

The countdown aims at the beginning of the day rather than at any particular hour of it, so it hits zero at midnight and stays there until the day is over. That is the answer most people want from a question like "how many days until Thanksgiving", where the honest reply on the day is none.

More countdowns

Time until ChristmasThe 25th of December, the countdown most people are actually running.Time until New Year's Day1 January, the reset everyone measures the year from.Time until Halloween31 October, the night before All Saints' Day.Time until FridayThe next Friday, counted from midnight at the start of the day.Time until the first day of summerThe June solstice, taken here as 20 June.Time until Christmas Eve24 December, the evening that carries most of the tradition.

See every countdown