The centrepiece of Nowruz is the 'haft-sin' table – a beautifully arranged display of seven items that all start with the Persian letter 'S' (sin). Families spend days getting it ready. The traditional items are: sabzeh (sprouting green wheat or lentils, grown especially for the occasion); sib (apples, representing health); serkeh (vinegar, representing patience); somagh (sumac berries, representing the colour of sunrise); senjed (dried lotus berries, representing love); sir (garlic, representing good health); and samanu (a sweet wheat pudding, representing prosperity). Often people also add a goldfish in a bowl, coloured eggs, a mirror, candles and a book of poetry.
In the days before Nowruz, families do a thorough 'khane-tekani' – which means 'shaking the house'. Every room is cleaned from top to bottom, old things are given away, and new clothes are bought for the whole family. On the last Wednesday before Nowruz comes Chaharshanbe Suri, when people jump over small bonfires in the street, shouting 'give me your red glow and health; take my pale sickness away!' – a cheerful, energetic way to leave the old year behind. Then on New Year's Eve, the whole family gathers around the haft-sin table and waits together for the exact moment the new year arrives, which is announced on television and radio to the second.
The celebration continues for thirteen days. Families visit each other, bringing sweets and gifts. Children receive presents of crisp new banknotes tucked inside cards. On the thirteenth day – 'Sizdah Bedar' – everyone goes outdoors to parks and picnic spots, and the sprouting sabzeh from the haft-sin table is thrown into running water, taking any last bad luck with it. Nowruz is so universal and ancient that UNESCO has placed it on its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage – a celebration belonging not to one nation but to all of humanity.