The day before Thanksgiving is called Thanksgiving Eve. That is the neutral name, and it works the same way as Christmas Eve. The night itself also has party nicknames: Blackout Wednesday and Drinksgiving. Both refer to the heavy drinking that happens at bars that evening. The day always falls on the Wednesday before the fourth Thursday in November. In 2026, that’s Wednesday, November 25.
None of these names is an official holiday. Which one you hear mostly depends on who’s talking. Your family might say “Thanksgiving Eve.” Your old high school friends texting about meeting up at the bar might say “Blackout Wednesday.”
Every name for the day before Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Eve is the standard name for the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. The other names describe the night out, not the date itself.
| Name | What it means | Tone |
|---|---|---|
| Thanksgiving Eve | The day or evening before Thanksgiving, like Christmas Eve | Neutral; fine for family, work and the news |
| Blackout Wednesday | Slang for the binge drinking that night | Informal; police and safety groups also use it in warnings |
| Drinksgiving | Another slang name for the drinking night | Informal, playful |
| Dranksgiving | A variant spelling of Drinksgiving | Slang |
| Black Wednesday | A shorter version of Blackout Wednesday | Slang |
| Green Wednesday | The cannabis industry’s name for the day, built around retail sales | Marketing term |
Don’t confuse Blackout Wednesday with Black Friday, the shopping day after Thanksgiving. Friendsgiving is also different. A Friendsgiving is a Thanksgiving-style meal with friends instead of family, and it can happen any day of the season.
Why is it called Blackout Wednesday?
Blackout Wednesday gets its name from heavy drinking. “Blacking out” means drinking so much that you can’t remember parts of the night. The nickname is about binge drinking on the night before Thanksgiving, when college students home on break meet hometown friends at local bars.
Several things make this one Wednesday the night people go out:
- Thursday is a day off. Thanksgiving is a federal holiday, so schools and government offices are closed the next day.
- Everyone is back home. College students are home on break, so old high school friends can catch up at the local bar.
- Thursday belongs to family. Thanksgiving Day is family time, which leaves Wednesday night for catching up with friends.
- It started on campus. The night grew out of college break: students home for the long weekend saw friends before heading back for finals.
Bars notice the difference. Data from Upserve, a restaurant management platform, showed restaurant sales up 23 percent that Wednesday compared with other weeks, and liquor sales up 114 percent on average.
When did Blackout Wednesday start?
Blackout Wednesday has no founding date. People were drinking on Thanksgiving Eve long before anyone named it. The names are much easier to date than the custom.
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 2007 | The term “Drinksgiving” catches on, according to a 2017 Minneapolis Star Tribune report |
| 2009 | “Drinksgiving” gets a crowd-sourced slang dictionary entry |
| 2010 | “Blackout Wednesday” gets its own slang dictionary entry, calling the day before Thanksgiving the biggest bar night of the year |
| 2011 | The Wall Street Journal runs a video segment titled “Before the Turkey, A Big Night of Drinking” |
| 2017 | The Minneapolis Star Tribune publishes a feature on how the night became the biggest drinking night of the year |
Since then, the name has spread from student slang into local TV news, police press releases and bar promotions.
When is the day before Thanksgiving in 2026?
In 2026, the day before Thanksgiving is Wednesday, November 25. Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26. Under federal law, Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday in November, so Thanksgiving Eve is always the Wednesday right before it. That puts it somewhere between November 21 and November 27.
| Year | Thanksgiving Eve (Wednesday) | Thanksgiving (Thursday) |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | November 25 | November 26 |
| 2027 | November 24 | November 25 |
| 2028 | November 22 | November 23 |
To find the date in any year, look up the fourth Thursday of November on a calendar and count back one day. Thanksgiving Eve is also a big travel day. For the 2025 holiday, the Illinois Tollway expected the heaviest travel on Wednesday, November 26th, when more than 1.8 million drivers were expected on its roads.
Is Thanksgiving Eve dangerous? Blackout Wednesday and drunk driving
Yes, Thanksgiving Eve brings a real increase in impaired-driving crashes, which is why police treat it as a high-risk night. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data show that from 2016 to 2020, 138 drivers involved in fatal crashes on Thanksgiving Eve were alcohol-impaired. Young adults are hit hardest: 21- to 24-year-olds made up the largest share of those alcohol-impaired drivers, 44 percent.
Many police departments add patrols or set up DUI checkpoints that night. If you’re going out, plan ahead:
- Pick a sober driver before you leave. Settle it at home, not at closing time.
- Book a ride early. Rideshare prices and wait times go up on busy nights, so set up your app and payment ahead of time.
- Remember the next morning. Many people drive to Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday, and alcohol can still be in your system after a late night.
- Watch out for your friends. If someone shows signs of alcohol poisoning, such as confusion, vomiting, slow breathing or not waking up, call 911.
How to use each name
“Thanksgiving Eve” works anywhere: a work email, a school schedule or an invitation to Grandma. Save “Blackout Wednesday” and “Drinksgiving” for casual talk with friends.
FAQ
– What is the biggest drinking day in America?
There’s no single official ranking, but Thanksgiving Eve is a strong contender: Upserve data showed liquor sales up 114 percent that night. That reputation is where the nicknames Blackout Wednesday and Drinksgiving come from. New Year’s Eve, St. Patrick’s Day and the Fourth of July are also major drinking holidays. Which one comes out on top depends on whether you measure bar sales, alcohol purchases or something else.
– What is the biggest DUI day of the year?
Thanksgiving Eve is one of the highest-risk nights for drunk driving. NHTSA counted 138 alcohol-impaired drivers in fatal crashes on Thanksgiving Eve from 2016 to 2020. The holiday period as a whole is also among the most dangerous times of year to drive, which is why many states increase DUI enforcement that week.
– What is the Sunday before Thanksgiving?
The Sunday before Thanksgiving has no common secular nickname. Some congregations call it Thanksgiving Sunday and hold services of gratitude. In 2026 it falls on November 22, which is also Christ the King Sunday in many Western churches, the last Sunday before Advent.
– Which US president refused to celebrate Thanksgiving as a national holiday?
Thomas Jefferson refused to issue national Thanksgiving proclamations. He believed government-declared days of prayer mixed church and state. Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving a regular national observance in 1863.
– Is Blackout Wednesday an official holiday?
No. Blackout Wednesday is not an official or federal holiday. It’s an informal name for the night before Thanksgiving. Schools and businesses may close early that day because of holiday travel, but no law recognizes the name.