The Persian word for garlic displayed on an Iranian Haft-sin table is seer.
Seer is one of the commonly listed Haft-sin items, and its Persian name begins with the letter س, or sin. Garlic is associated in many explanations with health, protection and keeping away illness, making it a fitting symbol for a new year. The exact symbolic interpretations can differ between families and reference works.
The other familiar “sin” items include seeb, meaning apple; senjed, the dried fruit of the oleaster tree; somaq, or sumac; serkeh, meaning vinegar; samanu, a wheat-based sweet paste; and sabzeh, sprouted greens. Existing household traditions may omit, replace or supplement individual items.
Seer is easy to confuse with seeb because the words look and sound similar to learners of Persian. Seeb means apple, whereas seer means garlic. Both can appear on the same Haft-sin table.