At Madrid's Puerta del Sol, people traditionally eat 12 grapes with the 12 midnight chimes on New Year's Eve. Each grape is associated with one month of the coming year and is believed to bring good fortune when eaten in time.
The clock at the Real Casa de Correos is the focus of Spain's nationally watched countdown. Crowds in the square follow the clock and chimes, while millions more watch the ceremony on television. The tradition is commonly called las doce uvas de la suerte, or the twelve grapes of luck.
Stories about the custom's origin often point to a surplus grape harvest in the early twentieth century, when growers promoted grapes as a New Year tradition. The exact development was gradual, and references to eating grapes at year-end appeared before the practice became a mass national ritual.
The square is also a symbolic center of Spain: the kilometer zero plaque for the country's radial roads is located there. The grapes are distinct from Christmas sweets and other regional holiday foods.