Canon 5d, 1/400s, f8, iso100, Canon 16-35L f2.8 @ 32.

Canon A85, 1/20s, f5.6, iso50, 5.4mm!

Happy Persian New Year, aka Norouz ! Norouz (also written as Nowruz or Nowrouz or Norooz or Nowrooz or Noruz) is made of two words: No meaning new and Rooz meaning Day, so in brief it means New Day, referring to the first day of the new year. It's also referred to as Eid.

It's celebrated by Iranian, Turkic and many other peoples in West Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, Northwestern China, the Caucasus, the Crimea, and the Balkans. Alawites and Nizari Ismailis also celebrate Norouz. Countries that all or some of the people celebrate Norouz are Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, parts of the Middle East, as well as in the former Soviet republics of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan,Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. It is also celebrated by the Zoroastrian Parsis in India and Pakistan as well by certain Iranic inhabitants in Pakistan's Chitral region. It is also celebrated by the Iranian immigrants from Shiraz in Zanzibar. In Turkey, it is called Nevruz in Turkish, Sultan Nevruz in Albanian. In some remote communities located in parts of western Iran, the holiday is referred to as Nuroj, which literally means New Day in the Kurdish language.

Persian new year starts at spring equinox and marks the exact starting time of Spring. That's why every year, the time of Persian new year is different (as opposed to Christian year that starts at 12 o'clock midnight).

People put together a nice looking collection of seven specific items, each starting with the word "S" (called Sin in Persian) and thus it's called Haft-Sin (meanins seven "S"'s). According to Wikipedia, "the items symbolically correspond to seven creations and holy immortals protecting them. The Haft Sin has evolved over time, but has kept its symbolism. Traditionally, families attempt to set as beautiful a Haft Sīn table as they can, as it is not only of traditional and spiritual value, but also noticed by visitors during Nowruzi visitations and is a reflection of their good taste.

The Haft Sīn items are:

* sabzeh - wheat, barley or lentil sprouts growing in a dish - symbolizing rebirth
* samanu - a sweet pudding made from wheat germ - symbolizing affluence
* senjed - the dried fruit of the oleaster tree - symbolizing love
* sīr - garlic - symbolizing medicine
* sīb - apples - symbolizing beauty and health
* somaq - sumac berries - symbolizing (the color of) sunrise
* serkeh - vinegar - symbolizing age and patience

Other items on the table may include:

* Sonbol - Hyacinth (flower)
* Sekkeh - Coins - representative of wealth
* traditional Iranian pastries such as baghlava, toot, naan-nokhodchi
* Aajeel - dried nuts, berries and raisins
* lit candles (enlightenment and happiness)
* a mirror (symbolizing cleanness and honesty)
* decorated eggs, sometimes one for each member of the family (fertility)
* a bowl of water with goldfish (life within life, and the sign of Pisces which the sun is leaving)
* rosewater, believed to have magical cleansing powers
* the national colours, for a patriotic touch
* a holy book (e.g., the Qur'an, Avesta, Bible, Torah, or Kitáb-i-Aqdas) and/or a poetry book (almost always either the Shahnama or the Divan of Hafez)"

You can see a photo of Haft-Sin table set up at the White House here.