Spain's famous New Year's Eve grape-eating celebration is centered on Puerta del Sol in Madrid.
At midnight, many people in Spain try to eat one grape with each of the clock's twelve chimes. The twelve grapes are commonly associated with good fortune for the twelve months ahead. Madrid's clock at Puerta del Sol provides the nationally televised setting for the custom, and large crowds gather around the square.
The celebration is often called the “twelve grapes of luck” tradition. Its exact origin is debated, but a widely repeated account connects its popularity to a surplus grape harvest in the early twentieth century. Merchants and growers promoted grapes as a festive New Year's product, helping the practice spread.
The preliminary sounds from the clock are not the twelve main chimes, so participants must wait for the actual sequence. This timing detail explains why televised broadcasts often show people preparing with grapes before midnight rather than eating them immediately when the clock first makes a sound.