Thanksgiving remains one of the most significant family and cultural holidays in the United States, bringing together traditions of gratitude, harvest, and national reflection.
This guide looks at when the holiday is observed, what history says about its origins, the controversies surrounding it, and how it is marked both in the US and by Americans in South Africa.
According to historical accounts and official calendars, Thanksgiving Day in the United States has, since 1941, been fixed by law on the fourth Thursday in November.
It is a federal holiday, meaning most government offices, many businesses and schools close, and millions of people travel to gather with family and friends.
When is Thanksgiving 2025 and what does it mark?
Thanksgiving is one of 11 annual US federal holidays established in law for federal employees. In 2025, it is observed on Thursday, 27 November 2025.
Traditionally, the day is framed around giving thanks for the year’s harvest and blessings. Many Americans mark the day with a shared meal — typically featuring roast turkey, stuffing, potatoes, vegetables, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie — alongside religious services, charity drives, and time spent with family.
Travel patterns underline its scale: forecasts for 2025 suggest one of the busiest Thanksgiving periods on record, with tens of millions of people expected to attend gatherings, primarily by car, as well as by air and other transport.
The real history behind Thanksgiving
Many Americans grow up with a simplified story of “the First Thanksgiving” – Pilgrims and “friendly Indians” sharing a peaceful feast in 1621 and then parting ways.
Historians and Native American organisations note that this version is incomplete and, in some respects, inaccurate.
Records show that the 1621 harvest gathering took place between English colonists at Plymouth and the Wampanoag people.
It followed a period in which European diseases had devastated Indigenous populations in the region, and the Wampanoag leadership saw a political and military alliance with the newcomers as a way to strengthen their position against rival nations such as the Narragansett.
The feast itself appears to have been a multi-day event that included venison, fowl, and crops, rather than the modern turkey-and-pie menu.
Over the 17th and 18th centuries, New England colonies held various “days of thanksgiving” tied to specific events, such as military victories or bountiful harvests, rather than a single fixed annual holiday.
In 1789, US President George Washington issued a proclamation for a national day of public thanksgiving and prayer. It was only in 1863, during the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln declared a recurring national Thanksgiving in November, influenced in part by campaigner Sarah Josepha Hale, who promoted the idea of a unifying national holiday.
Congress later fixed the modern structure of the holiday in 1941, establishing the fourth Thursday of November as Thanksgiving Day across the United States.
Controversies and Indigenous perspectives
While Thanksgiving is widely celebrated, it is also a day of grief and protest for many Indigenous communities and their allies.
Critics argue that the traditional narrative minimises or erases the consequences of colonisation, including land dispossession, war, forced removal, and the long-term impact of disease and policies on Native nations.
Indigenous scholars and organisations point out that the popular myth of a harmonious first feast — with unnamed “Indians” helping Pilgrims survive out of kindness — obscures the political nature of Wampanoag–English relations and the violence that followed in later decades.
These critiques emphasise that thanksgiving ceremonies existed in many Native cultures long before European arrival and that the national holiday has often sidelined those traditions.
Since 1970, some Native American activists have observed the fourth Thursday of November as a National Day of Mourning, particularly in Plymouth, Massachusetts, where gatherings draw attention to historical injustices and ongoing challenges faced by Indigenous peoples.
Participants use the day to highlight broken treaties, systemic inequality and the need for more accurate teaching of history.
For many families and communities, these debates have led to a more reflective form of Thanksgiving — one that includes acknowledging Indigenous land, learning about local Native history, or supporting Indigenous-led initiatives alongside traditional family gatherings.
How Americans celebrate Thanksgiving 2025 in the US
Despite differences in how it is viewed, certain practices are common across much of the United States:
- Family meals: The centrepiece for many households is a large lunch or dinner, often including roast turkey, side dishes and desserts. Some families incorporate recipes that reflect their cultural backgrounds, blending the holiday with African-American, Latino, Asian, Native, and other culinary traditions.
- Religious and community events: Some attend church services or community gatherings, while others volunteer at shelters, soup kitchens or food drives aimed at supporting people facing hunger.
- Parades and sport: Televised parades and American football games form part of the day’s routine in many households, with major cities hosting large events that act as unofficial markers of the holiday season.
- Travel and closures: Because Thanksgiving is a federal holiday, government offices, many banks and schools close, while U.S. stock and bond markets also shut for the day. Major retailers increasingly remain closed on Thanksgiving itself and reopen for Black Friday sales the following day.
In 2025, forecasts suggest particularly heavy travel volumes, with road congestion around the days immediately before and after 27 November, as people move across states to attend family gatherings or make use of the long weekend for trips.
How Americans in South Africa and abroad mark Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is not a public holiday in South Africa, and life generally continues as normal on 27 November.
However, American expatriates, dual nationals and some international communities still observe the day in private homes, international schools, and certain restaurants.
Reports on Thanksgiving abroad note that Americans living overseas often recreate the holiday in smaller groups, adapting menus to local ingredients and hosting “Friendsgiving” events with colleagues and friends from different countries.
In cities like Cape Town, guides over the years have highlighted special Thanksgiving dinners offered by selected hotels and restaurants, as well as self-catered gatherings where expats source turkey or local alternatives and share familiar dishes such as mashed potatoes, green beans and pumpkin-based desserts.
For Americans in South Africa wanting to mark Thanksgiving 2025, common options include:
- Hosting a home meal on Thursday evening, timed to allow normal work or school during the day.
- Organising a Friendsgiving over the weekend for those who cannot meet on the Thursday.
- Joining events organised by international schools, churches, or expat organisations where a Thanksgiving-style menu is served.
In many cases, these gatherings blend American traditions with South African context — for example, serving turkey alongside local favourites, or moving the celebration outdoors to take advantage of late-spring weather.
Whether observed in the United States or among American communities in South Africa and elsewhere, the holiday in 2025 is likely to continue evolving, with many people combining familiar rituals — shared meals, travel and time off — with a growing emphasis on accurate history and inclusive reflection.
