People in Spain traditionally eat grapes at each stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve.
The custom is known as las doce uvas de la suerte, or “the twelve grapes of luck.” Participants try to eat one grape for each of the twelve clock chimes marking midnight. Completing the sequence is associated with good fortune for the twelve months ahead.
The most famous public chimes come from the clock at Puerta del Sol in Madrid, whose broadcast is watched across Spain. The tradition became especially prominent in the early twentieth century, with explanations linking its spread to a grape surplus in 1909, although earlier references to the custom also exist.
The grapes are often prepared in small packs and may be peeled or seeded to make the rapid eating easier. The practice is distinct from the unrelated New Year's Eve customs of drinking sparkling wine or making resolutions.