Why is Thanksgiving so late this year?

FILE-A photo of Thanksgiving dinner on a table. (Photo by: Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images)
Thanksgiving is a day when families across the country spend time together while enjoying a large meal featuring a turkey complemented by lots of side dishes.  
But as people begin making their plans and start their meal preparations and grocery shopping, one thing they may notice is that the holiday falls later in November this year. 
Thanksgiving takes place on Nov. 28, 2024. In 2023, the day was celebrated on Nov. 23, and it was on Nov. 24 in 2022, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. 
This year, Thanksgiving is on the latest possible date. Typically, the holiday happens on the fourth Thursday of November, but the dates can change based on leap years. And a leap year did occur in 2024, USA Today reported. 
RELATED: Thanksgiving dinner will cost less this year, analysts say
A Nov. 28 Thanksgiving takes place about every five-to-six years, which means that the next time the holiday falls on Nov. 28 will be in 2030.
President George Washington issued a proclamation naming Thursday, November 26, 1789 as a “Day of Publick Thanksgivin” – the first time Thanksgiving was celebrated under the new Constitution, according to the National Archives.  
Other presidents issued Thanksgiving Proclamations, but the dates and months of the celebrations differed. But President Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 Proclamation stated that Thanksgiving was regularly celebrated each year on the last Thursday of November. 
RELATED: Most popular Thanksgiving sides in each state revealed
The National Archives noted that Congress later decided to set a fixed date for the holiday. On October 6, 1941, the House passed a joint resolution declaring the last Thursday in November to be the legal Thanksgiving Day. However, the Senate amended the resolution establishing the holiday as the fourth Thursday, which factored in some years when November has five Thursdays.
Moreover, the House agreed to the amendment, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the resolution on December 26, 1941, establishing the fourth Thursday in November as the Federal Thanksgiving Day holiday.
Information for this story was provided by the Cincinnati Enquirer, USA Today, and the National Archives, which provides background on the origin of Thanksgiving.  This story was reported from Washington, D.C.