What is the name of Madrid’s New Year’s Eve tradition of eating 12 grapes at midnight?
Answer
Las doce uvas de la suerte
Madrid’s New Year’s Eve tradition of eating 12 grapes at midnight is called Las doce uvas de la suerte, meaning “the twelve grapes of luck.”
People eat one grape with each of the twelve midnight chimes. The grapes represent the twelve months of the coming year, and finishing them in time is popularly associated with good fortune and prosperity.
The custom is strongly linked with Madrid’s Puerta del Sol, where crowds gather around the clock tower and millions more follow the chimes on television. The tradition is sometimes called las doce uvas or simply the twelve grapes.
A common mix-up is to treat the grapes as a general Spanish dessert tradition. They are specifically a New Year custom, and the ritual is timed to the twelve midnight strikes rather than eaten at any point during the evening.