In Spain's New Year's Eve tradition, what are the midnight grapes called?

Spain's midnight grapes are called Las doce uvas de la suerte, meaning “the twelve grapes of luck.”

The tradition calls for eating one grape with each of the clock's twelve midnight chimes on December 31. Completing the sequence is popularly believed to bring good fortune for the twelve months ahead. Families and friends often prepare the grapes in advance, sometimes peeling or removing seeds to make the timed ritual easier.

The custom is strongly associated with Madrid's Puerta del Sol, where the clock chimes are broadcast nationally. The phrase “las doce campanadas” refers to the twelve chimes themselves, not the grapes, so the two expressions should not be treated as exact synonyms.

The origin is often linked to grape growers and commercial promotion in the early twentieth century, especially the large 1909 harvest. Earlier elite or urban practices may also have contributed. The widely repeated story is therefore best understood as a tradition that was popularized through commerce and mass broadcasting rather than a custom with one uncontested inventor.