Spain

The Twelve Grapes is a Spanish ritual in which a grape is eaten with each clock bell strike at midnight on December 31 to welcome the New Year.

The twelve grapes have been around since at least 1895, but they became popular in 1909. In December of that year, certain alicantese vine growers popularized this practice in order to sell a large number of grapes from a good crop. Eating the twelve grapes, according to custom, brings a year of good fortune and riches.

People congregate to eat the grapes in two places: at home with the family after Nochevieja meal or in the main squares around the country, being the Puerta del Sol in Madrid the most famous place to do it and where this tradition started.