People in Spain traditionally eat twelve grapes at midnight on New Year’s Eve. Each grape is associated with one of the twelve strokes of the clock, and eating all twelve is linked with good fortune for the coming year.
The custom is especially associated with the clock at Madrid’s Puerta del Sol, whose midnight chimes are broadcast nationally. Families and friends often prepare twelve grapes in advance so they can follow the rapid sequence of chimes. The practice is commonly called las doce uvas de la suerte, meaning “the twelve grapes of luck.”
The tradition is often connected to a large grape harvest in 1909, when growers promoted grapes as a New Year custom, although references to the practice existed before that campaign. The grapes represent the months of the year, but the custom is a cultural ritual rather than a calendar rule. Spanish-speaking communities in other countries have also adopted variations of it.