During Spain's New Year's Eve tradition, people eat 12 grapes at midnight.
Known as the Twelve Grapes, the custom calls for eating one grape with each stroke of the clock at midnight on December 31. The grapes are associated with good fortune for the 12 months of the coming year, making the ritual both a timing challenge and a symbolic wish for prosperity.
The tradition became widely established in Spain in the early twentieth century, although stories about its precise origin differ. One often-repeated account connects its popularity to a surplus grape harvest in 1909, when growers promoted grapes for New Year celebrations. The custom is linked to the clock at Madrid's Puerta del Sol, whose chimes are broadcast nationally. It is 12 grapes, not one for each bell sound in every local countdown.