Sofreye Haft Sin :sofre (tablecloth), haft (seven), sin (the letter S [س]). Al-Bīrūnī said: haftsin came from jamshid because he destroyed the evil that made pars lands weak so in first day of Iranian calendar people called it nowruz (starting of a new day) and they put 7 different beans on their table as a sign of thanking nature for giving humans all they need. Since then every year Iranians put haftsin on their tables, but nowadays they put 7 things that start with letter [س]. Some people also believe that sasanian had a very beautiful plate that was given to them from China and they called it chini plate, and after some years the word chini changed into sini (a beautiful plate) so people would put 7 things in a sini.
The Haft-Seen items are:
- Sabzeh (سبزه) – wheat, barley, mung bean or lentil sprouts growing in a dish – symbolizing rebirth
- Samanu (سمنو) – sweet pudding made from wheat germ – symbolizing affluence
- Senjed (سنجد) – dried oleaster Wild Olive fruit – symbolizing love
- Seer (سیر) – garlic – symbolizing the medicine and health
- Seeb (سیب) – apple – symbolizing beauty
- Somāq (سماق) – sumac fruit – symbolizing (the color of) sunrise
- Serkeh (سرکه) – vinegar – symbolizing old-age and patience
The following items may also appear on the Haft-Seen table as ornaments or for the sake of completeness. Although some of these items are Persian symbols, they are not the main part of the traditional Haft-Seen.
- The holy book
- Divan-e Hafez, a Persian poetry book
- a mirror
- a goldfish in a bowl represents life and the end of astral year-picas (Goldfish is originally a symbol of Chinese new year)
- a low brazier full of fire
- a lamp
- sprays of cypress or pine
- pomegranates
- painted eggs
- coins as a symbol of wealth
- candles for each member of the family
- a bowl of water
- wheat or bread