March 20 will mark Norwuz (meaning "new day"), the Persian new year, which begins at the vernal equinox.

I called on some friends yesterday, and discovered two Nowruz traditions.

One is housecleaning, a very thorough Spring cleaning.

The other is haft sin, a ceremonial table set with seven items (at last) beginning with the Persian letter sin ("S"). I didn't have the presence of mind to ask whether I could photograph my friends' haft sin table, but remember seeing: wheat sprouts, spices, pudding, dried fruits, apples, decorated eggs, apples, berries, flowers, candles, goldfish (swimming in a large vase), and the Koran in Arabic and Persian versions.