In New Year's Eve celebrations in Spain, people traditionally eat one grape at each of the twelve midnight chimes.
The custom is known as the twelve grapes of luck, or las doce uvas de la suerte. Each grape represents one month of the coming year, and successfully eating all twelve is associated with good fortune. Families and friends often follow the chimes on television or gather around a public clock.
The best-known public setting is Madrid's Puerta del Sol, where the clock of the Real Casa de Correos provides the midnight chimes. The tradition spread nationally and has also influenced New Year's customs in parts of Latin America.
The practice is often linked to a large grape surplus in Spain around the beginning of the twentieth century, although accounts of its exact origin differ. The grapes are eaten with the actual midnight sequence, not simply during the evening meal.