Why is Thanksgiving so late this year? You can blame politics.

On November 29, 2024By Littum

If it feels like Thanksgiving is late this year, that’s because it is.

Maybe that means holding off on gift shopping since Black Friday also falls later.

Or maybe you’ll wait a little longer to put up your decorations for the next holiday if you adhere to the standard of waiting until after the turkey and pumpkin pies are eaten.

In 2024, Thanksgiving will land on November 28, the latest possible date for the holiday to fall. And as it turns out, there is a political explanation:

Why is Thanksgiving so late this year?

You can thank Congress for that.

On October 6, 1941, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution declaring Thanksgiving Day the last Thursday in November, according to Center for Legislative Archives. But the Senate amended the resolution to put the holiday on the fourth Thursday of the month to account for years in which November has five Thursdays.

The House agreed to this amendment, President Franklin D. Roosevelt resigned, and the rest was history.

But it hasn’t always been that way. Presidents used to issue Thanksgiving proclamations, but that didn’t set the holiday on a consistent day or even a consistent month. Thanksgiving was not regularly celebrated on the last Thursday in November until President Abraham Lincoln’s proclamation in 1863.

In 1939, Thanksgiving landed on the last day of November, and Roosevelt worried that a shorter holiday season would hurt the nation’s economic recovery. He moved Thanksgiving to the second to last Thursday in November, but some states rejected the change and celebrated it a week later for two years.

The confusion ended when Congress acted and elected on the last Thursday in November.

What does a later Thanksgiving mean for the holiday shopping season?

Since Thanksgiving is later, so is Black Friday. But much has changed since 1939, i.a many consumers who prefer to shop online over several days instead of trekking to the mall at dawn.

Many major retailers offer early bird deals for shoppersdays or weeks before November 29. Target, for example, has had deals every Sunday since November 3rd.

Black Friday has remained popular even in times of economic upheaval, with sales still reaching billions of dollars during the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic.

What is the weather forecast for Thanksgiving in Wisconsin?

Even though Thanksgiving is late this year, it also feels like winter weather has taken a while to get to Wisconsin.

Temperatures will drop significantly into the weekend, with a high near 33 on Thanksgiving and 24 degrees on Black Friday and Small Business Saturday.

While earlier forecasts this week showed a chance for very light amounts of snow for Thanksgiving travelers, the National Weather Service now says conditions will remain dry throughout most parts of Wisconsin.