- When is US Thanksgiving?
- US Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday of November each year. It is a federal holiday. The Friday after Thanksgiving (Black Friday) is not a federal holiday but is widely observed as a day off by US companies, creating an effective four-day weekend from Thursday through Sunday for most American employees.
- Does Canada observe Thanksgiving at the same time?
- No. Canadian Thanksgiving falls on the second Monday of October, roughly six weeks before the US holiday. Teams with both US and Canadian members will encounter two separate Thanksgiving slowdowns. In 2026, Canadian Thanksgiving is October 12 and US Thanksgiving is November 26.
- How should international teams handle the Thanksgiving week slowdown?
- The most effective approach is to treat Thanksgiving week as a low-synchronous period for US team members. Push decisions and deliverables to the week before or after, schedule no major launches or cross-team deliverables for that week, and use the US downtime for non-blocking async work that international colleagues can continue independently.
