Spain's New Year's Eve custom Las doce uvas involves eating twelve grapes at midnight.
The twelve grapes are eaten in time with the twelve chimes of the clock at midnight. Each grape represents one month of the coming year, and successfully eating them is traditionally associated with good fortune. The practice is especially linked with the clock at Madrid's Puerta del Sol, whose chimes are broadcast nationally.
The custom became widely established in Spain during the early twentieth century. One commonly cited explanation is that grape producers promoted the ritual after a large grape harvest, although the exact origin is debated and earlier elite customs may also have influenced it.
The grapes are sometimes prepared in peeled or seedless form because the chimes arrive quickly. The ritual is not the same as eating twelve grapes at any time on New Year's Day; its defining feature is matching one grape to each midnight chime.