People in Spain traditionally eat 12 grapes at midnight on New Year's Eve, one with each clock chime.
The custom is known as las doce uvas de la suerte, or “the twelve grapes of luck.” Each grape represents one month of the coming year, and successfully eating all 12 before the final chime is associated with prosperity and good fortune. Families and friends commonly prepare small portions in advance because the chimes arrive quickly.
The best-known public countdown takes place at Madrid's Puerta del Sol. Television networks broadcast the clock there nationwide, allowing households across Spain to synchronize their celebrations. The tradition has also spread to Spanish-speaking communities in other countries.
A popular account connects the custom's growth to Spanish grape growers around the beginning of the 20th century, although earlier references to eating grapes at New Year's already existed. The practice is sometimes confused with Christmas traditions, but the 12-chime grape ritual specifically belongs to New Year's Eve.