I have Persian friends and co-workers and today they celebrate their New Year and the Spring renewal.

Here's a great article that tells you what the tradition is all about.
They have certain food items on a "haftseen" table where all gather around to celebrate the start of a new year.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/201...th-deliciously


In every home, the haftseen table is decorated with seven items - since seven is considered a lucky number. Each item begins with the letter sin (s) in Persian, and each item is a symbol of spring and renewal, including:

Seeb (apple), representing beauty
Seer (garlic), representing good health
Serkeh (vinegar), representing patience
Sonbol (hyacinth), representing spring
Samanu (sweet pudding), representing fertility
Sabzeh (sprouts), representing rebirth
Sekeh (coins), representing prosperity

Other words beginning with the letter "s" can also be used, such as the spice sumac, its brilliant gold color representing the sunrise, or senjed, a dried fruit of the Lotus tree, representing love.