What is the name of the New Year's Eve celebration in Spain that involves eating 12 grapes at midnight?
Answer
Las doce uvas de la suerte
Las doce uvas de la suerte is Spain's New Year's Eve tradition of eating 12 lucky grapes at midnight.
The Spanish name means “the twelve grapes of luck.” Participants eat one grape with each stroke of the midnight clock, with the 12 grapes representing the 12 months ahead. Finishing them in time is popularly associated with receiving good fortune in the coming year.
The custom is closely linked with Madrid's Puerta del Sol, where the clock's chimes are nationally broadcast. Stories about its origin commonly connect its spread to a surplus grape harvest in the early twentieth century, although the tradition also developed from earlier elite customs involving grapes and New Year's celebrations. It is not the same as Spain's Three Kings festivities, which take place in January.