In Spain, people traditionally eat grapes at each of the 12 midnight chimes on New Year's Eve.
The custom is known as las doce uvas de la suerte, or “the twelve grapes of luck.” Each grape represents one month of the coming year, and finishing all 12 in time with the clock is associated with prosperity and good fortune. Families and friends often prepare individual sets of grapes before midnight.
The best-known public countdown in Spain takes place at Puerta del Sol in Madrid. Television broadcasts carry the clock's chimes across the country, allowing people at home to follow the same ritual. The timing can be challenging because the grapes must be eaten quickly, so supermarkets often sell small prepared portions.
The tradition is commonly linked to a surplus grape harvest in the early 20th century, when producers promoted the idea as a way to increase consumption. The exact origin is sometimes described differently in historical accounts, but the practice was firmly established in Spain by the early 1900s. It is now one of the country's most recognizable New Year's customs.