Question: is thanksgiving always the third thursday in november

Answer: No, Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a national holiday celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. It originated as a harvest festival. Thanksgiving has been celebrated nationally on and off since 1789, after Congress requested a proclamation by George Washington. It has been celebrated as a federal holiday every year since 1863, when, during the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of ``Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who in the Heavens,'' to be celebrated on the last Thursday in November. Together with Christmas and the New Year, Thanksgiving is a part of the broader fall/winter holiday season in the U.S.