It happened on November 27.
That’s the short answer if you're just trying to settle a bet or double-check an old calendar entry for a scrapbooking project. In 2014, Thanksgiving fell on the fourth Thursday of November, which just happened to be the 27th. But man, if you were actually there, you probably remember that specific holiday for reasons that had nothing to do with the turkey or the date itself. It was one of those years where the timing of the holiday combined with a massive "weather bomb" to create a logistical disaster for millions of people.
Honestly, looking back at what day is thanksgiving on in 2014, it feels like a lifetime ago. Barack Obama was in the White House, "Shake It Off" by Taylor Swift was basically the only song on the radio, and everyone was obsessed with the first teaser for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. But for about 46 million Americans, that particular Thursday was defined by a massive Nor'easter that slammed the East Coast right as people were trying to get to dinner.
The chaos of November 27th
Why does the specific date matter? Because Thanksgiving is always the fourth Thursday, but the "calendar drift" determines how much breathing room you have before December hits. When the holiday lands on the 27th, like it did in 2014, it creates a super-compressed shopping season. It was one of the latest possible dates for the holiday, leaving only 27 days until Christmas. Retailers were panicking.
But the weather didn't care about sales figures.
A massive storm hit the Northeast on Wednesday, November 26, the day before the holiday. If you were flying out of LaGuardia or Philly, you were basically stuck. I remember reports from FlightAware at the time showing over 700 cancellations and thousands of delays. It wasn't just a "little bit of snow." It was that heavy, wet slush that brings down power lines.
A weird year for traditions
2014 was also the year that "Black Thursday" really became a thing, much to the annoyance of pretty much everyone who worked in retail. Since what day is thanksgiving on in 2014 was so late in the month, stores like Macy’s, Target, and Best Buy opened their doors at 5:00 PM or 6:00 PM on the actual holiday.
It felt wrong.
People were literally leaving their dinners early to go stand in line for a discounted iPad. It sparked a huge national conversation about the "sanctity" of the holiday. You might recall the hashtags trending back then—people were calling for a boycott of stores that forced employees to work on the 27th. Some states, like Massachusetts and Rhode Island, actually had "Blue Laws" that prevented this, but for the rest of the country, the lines between "family time" and "consumerism" got seriously blurred that year.
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The sports and culture of Thanksgiving 2014
If you weren't stuck in a ditch in Connecticut or fighting for a TV at Walmart, you were probably watching football. The NFL triple-header on November 27, 2014, was actually pretty memorable, though maybe not for the reasons fans wanted.
The Chicago Bears played the Detroit Lions (a classic matchup), and the Lions actually won that one 34-17. Then we had the Eagles absolutely dismantling the Cowboys 33-10. But the nightcap was the real story: the Seahawks vs. the 49ers. This was the peak of that Richard Sherman era Seahawks defense. They ate turkey on the 49ers' logo after the game. It was peak petty sports drama, and it happened right on the 50-yard line in Santa Clara.
Then there was the parade.
The 88th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade went off without a hitch on the morning of the 27th, despite the looming storm. They had six new balloons that year, including a new Paddington Bear and the Red Mighty Morphin Power Ranger. It’s funny how those small details stick in the brain. If you have kids who were toddlers back then, they’re probably in high school now. That realization hits like a freight train.
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Why we obsess over the date
We search for what day is thanksgiving on in 2014 because our lives are often anchored to these holiday benchmarks. Maybe you’re trying to figure out how old someone was at a specific gathering, or you're trying to track down an old bank statement or a travel receipt.
The fourth-Thursday rule was actually established by Franklin D. Roosevelt, but it wasn't always so set in stone. Back in 1939, FDR actually moved the holiday up a week to try and jumpstart the economy during the Great Depression—a move people jokingly called "Franksgiving." By 1941, Congress stepped in and fixed it to the fourth Thursday, which is why 2014 landed on the 27th and not the 20th.
The late date in 2014 meant that the "holiday spirit" felt rushed. You barely had time to finish the leftovers before it was December.
Reconstructing your 2014 memories
If you’re looking up this date for a specific reason—maybe for legal records, a birth anniversary, or just nostalgia—here is the definitive breakdown of that holiday window:
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- Wednesday, Nov 26: The busiest travel day, ruined by a Nor'easter in the East.
- Thursday, Nov 27: Thanksgiving Day. Cold, slushy in the North, and the day of the infamous "Sherman Turkey" game.
- Friday, Nov 28: Black Friday, which actually started the night before for many.
- Saturday/Sunday: The "great trek home" where gas prices were actually dropping.
Interestingly, gas prices in late November 2014 were at a four-year low. According to AAA, the national average was around $2.79 a gallon. Compared to some of the prices we've seen recently, that sounds like a total dream. People were actually taking longer road trips because it was finally affordable to fill up the SUV.
Moving forward with your research
When you're digging into historical dates like this, it's easy to get lost in the "what" and forget the "context." Knowing that Thanksgiving was on November 27, 2014, is just the starting point. The real value is in understanding how that late date squeezed the retail calendar and how the weather patterns of that year disrupted the lives of millions.
To use this information effectively, you should verify any personal photos or digital archives you have from that week. Most smartphones will allow you to search your photo library by "November 2014," which can help you cross-reference your own experiences with the national events of that day. If you are planning a future event and using 2014 as a template, remember that late-November Thanksgivings always result in higher stress for travel and shorter windows for holiday preparation.
Check your old emails or Facebook "On This Day" memories for November 27. You'll likely find photos of that specific 2014 turkey or perhaps a status update complaining about the snow. Using those digital markers is the best way to anchor your personal history to the official calendar date.