In Portugal, twelve raisins are traditionally eaten at New Year for wishes.
The custom is performed at midnight, with celebrants eating one raisin for each month of the coming year and making a wish with each one. The raisins are commonly eaten alongside a toast, often with sparkling wine or champagne, as families and friends mark the turn of the year.
The number twelve is symbolic rather than arbitrary: it connects the ritual to the twelve months ahead. The practice is therefore different from traditions that involve twelve grapes, such as the better-known Spanish midnight custom. Both customs use one piece of fruit per month, but Portugal’s traditional fruit is the raisin.
Portuguese New Year celebrations also include foods such as Bolo-Rei, a ring-shaped King Cake decorated with dried and crystallized fruit. Another custom involves the cake’s hidden broad bean: traditionally, the person who finds it is expected to pay for the next year’s cake.