People traditionally eat twelve grapes at midnight in Spain’s New Year’s Eve tradition.
The custom is known as las doce uvas de la suerte, or “the twelve grapes of luck.” People try to eat one grape with each stroke of the clock at midnight. Each grape represents one month of the coming year, and successfully eating all twelve is associated with good fortune.
Madrid’s Puerta del Sol is the country’s most famous setting for the ritual. The clock there is broadcast nationally, allowing families and groups across Spain to follow the chimes together. The timing is demanding because the grapes must be eaten quickly.
The tradition became especially widespread in the early twentieth century. A popular explanation links its growth to grape growers who promoted surplus grapes, although the custom also had earlier elite associations. It is sometimes confused with general Spanish New Year food, but the defining midnight item is specifically twelve grapes.