 The dinner traditionally consists of foods and dishes indigenous to the Americas, namely turkey, potatoes (usually mashed), squash, corn (maize), green beans, cranberries (typically in sauce form), and pumpkin pie.Thanksgiving is regarded as being the beginning of the fall–winter holiday season, along with Christmas and the New Year, in American culture.The event that Americans commonly call the "First Thanksgiving" was celebrated by the Pilgrims after their first harvest in the New World in October 1621.