The phrase "Thanksgiving th" comes up every time a writer tries to pin down a date in late November. Should you write "November 28th" or "November 28"? Does the "th" ordinal suffix belong in a formal memo? And when is "Thanksgiving" capitalized? These are small decisions with real consequences for how polished your document looks. This guide walks through each one clearly.
Is "Thanksgiving" always capitalized?
Yes. Thanksgiving is a proper noun because it names a specific, officially recognized holiday. Whether you're writing "Happy Thanksgiving," "before Thanksgiving," or "the Thanksgiving holiday," the word takes a capital T every time. That rule doesn't change based on position in the sentence.
Where writers go wrong is treating it as a common noun when they modify it. "A thanksgiving gesture" (meaning gratitude in a general sense) is lowercase. "Thanksgiving dinner" (meaning the specific holiday meal) keeps the capital. The test is simple: if the word refers to the holiday itself, capitalize it.
The "th" suffix in Thanksgiving dates: when to use it
Ordinal suffixes like "th," "st," "nd," and "rd" are common in everyday conversation. In writing, the rules are more specific.
In formal business writing, style guides including the Chicago Manual of Style recommend dropping the ordinal suffix when the day follows the month. Write "November 28," not "November 28th." The suffix adds no information and reads as informal.
The ordinal suffix is appropriate in three narrower situations:
- When the day comes before the month: "the 28th of November."
- In casual or marketing copy where a conversational tone is intentional: "Join us for our Thanksgiving sale on the 28th!"
- When writing the date without a month: "We'll close on the 28th."
For most professional documents, emails, and memos, "November 28" is the cleaner choice. If you're unsure about formatting other time references in your documents, the guidance on how to write time correctly covers related ground on ordinals and notation.
Ordinal suffixes in superscript: a note on formatting
Some word processors automatically raise "th" to superscript: "November 28th." This style is standard in British formal correspondence and certain legal documents, but it's unusual in American business writing. If your organization doesn't have a house style that requires it, leave the suffix at normal baseline height. Superscript ordinals in a plain-text email can also render oddly across email clients, so they're best avoided in digital communication.
Writing "Thanksgiving" in date ranges and schedules
Schedules that reference Thanksgiving often pair the holiday name with a date. A few common patterns and how to handle them:
Thanksgiving Day, November 27: Use this when you want to name the holiday and give the date together. No "th" needed after the number.
Thanksgiving week (Nov. 24–28): Abbreviating the month is acceptable in tables, calendars, and tight-space contexts. Use the en dash for ranges (24–28), not a hyphen.
Thursday, November 27: When space is limited and the audience knows which Thursday is Thanksgiving, the weekday plus date is clear without spelling out the holiday name.
Consistency matters more than which format you choose. Pick one approach for a given document and hold it throughout. Switching between "Nov. 28th" in one paragraph and "November 28" in the next looks careless.
Thanksgiving greetings in professional writing
When you sign off a client email or internal note around the holiday, the phrasing matters. "Happy Thanksgiving" is appropriate in most professional contexts in the United States and Canada. It's warm without being too casual. "Warm Thanksgiving wishes" reads slightly more formal and works well in a letter or signed memo.
Avoid over-explaining. A one-line holiday greeting at the close of a business email is plenty. If you're unsure about broader salutation conventions, the post on greetings and salutations covers the full range of professional openers and closers.
One common mistake: writers drop "Happy" and write "Thanksgiving!" as a standalone sign-off. That reads abrupt and incomplete. Stick with "Happy Thanksgiving" or a full phrase.
A quick reference: common Thanksgiving writing mistakes
thanksgiving dinner (when referring to the holiday meal): should be "Thanksgiving dinner."
November 28th in formal prose: drop the suffix and write "November 28."
thanksgiving when meaning the holiday: always capitalized, "Thanksgiving."
the 28th of November: correct when the day precedes the month.
Getting these details right takes seconds once you know the pattern. The "th" in Thanksgiving-related writing is a small thing, but small things are precisely what readers notice in professional documents.