FROM Spanish plazas to UK supermarkets, the tradition of eating twelve grapes at midnight is spreading – here’s why people all over the world will be taking part in this ritual as the clock strikes midnight tomorrow, on New Year’s Eve.
In Spain the tradition is known as ‘Las doce uvas de la suerte’ which means ‘The twelve grapes of luck’ and involves eating one grape for each clock chime as the year changes at midnight.
Each grape represents a month of the year ahead with individuals believing that eating all twelve will ensure luck, happiness and success for all twelve months.
READ MORE: Tenerife is spearheading a new kind of whale and dolphin watching – here’s what you need to know
Many see the grapes as symbols of human needs and use each one to manifest a goal for the new year – one could mean love, the next health, the next career success etc.
The custom’s origins date all the way back to the 1880s when wealthy families in Madrid were inspired by the French custom of drinking champagne and eating grapes on New Year’s Eve.
By the early 1900s bringing in the new year with grapes was popular across the entirety of Spain.
A surplus harvest for Alicante grape farmers led them to promote eating twelve grapes at midnight for luck – using this sales pitch allowed them to sell more of the fruit.
It was this entrepreneurial move that led the concept of eating grapes on New Year’s Eve to become a tradition for Spaniards.
READ MORE: Two expats in Spain are awarded the British Empire Medal in New Year Honours list
With the growth of social media came the spreading of customs and now Spain’s ‘twelve grapes of luck’ have reached the UK – this year Tesco is even selling punnets of exactly twelve grapes, complete with fireworks on the packaging, for £1.25.
So whether you’ll be bringing in the new year in Spain, the UK, or somewhere else entirely, make sure you have your grapes at the ready and give each one a meaning to manifest an excellent 2026.
Click here to read more Spain News from The Olive Press.
