Madrid's Puerta del Sol hosts the clock whose twelve chimes guide Spain's New Year's Eve grape tradition.
At midnight, many people in Spain eat one grape with each of the clock's twelve chimes. The custom is popularly linked to a 1909 surplus of grapes, although the practice had already appeared in Madrid newspapers and among urban middle-class celebrants before that harvest promotion.
The clock tower at Puerta del Sol is part of the former post office building, now the headquarters of the Community of Madrid. Its midnight chimes are broadcast nationally, making the square the country's most recognizable New Year's gathering place.
The twelve grapes are commonly said to represent luck for the twelve months ahead. The quarter-chimes before the main strokes help celebrants prepare; eating all twelve quickly is a festive challenge, not a religious requirement.