Spain's traditional New Year's Eve midnight food is twelve grapes, eaten one per clock chime.
The custom is known as las doce uvas de la suerte, or “the twelve lucky grapes.” People try to eat one grape with each of the twelve strokes from the clock at midnight on December 31. Completing the sequence is popularly associated with good luck for the twelve months ahead.
The best-known national countdown is broadcast from the clock at Madrid's Puerta del Sol. Families and friends often watch the televised chimes together, while many town squares organize their own versions. The grapes may be fresh, peeled, or specially prepared to make the rapid eating easier.
The practice is commonly linked to a large grape surplus in Spain around the beginning of the twentieth century, although earlier elite grape-eating customs may also have influenced it. The essential tradition is twelve grapes, not a general fruit countdown.