The Twelve Grapes ( Sp. , "the twelve grapes of luck") is a Spanish tradition that consists of eating a

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus '' Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years a ...

with each of the twelve clock bell strikes at midnight of December 31 to welcome the New Year. Each grape and clock bell strike represents each of the coming twelve months. This tradition dates back from at least 1895 but was consolidated among the population in 1909. In December of that year, some Alicantese vine growers spread this custom to better sell huge numbers of grapes from an excellent harvest. According to the tradition, eating the Twelve Grapes leads to a year of good luck and prosperity. In some areas, this practice was also believed to ward off witches and evil in general, although today it is mostly followed as a tradition to celebrate and welcome the New Year. There are two types of places where people gather to eat the grapes: at home with family members after '' Nochevieja'' dinner, or in the main squares around the country, with the most famous being the

Puerta del Sol The Puerta del Sol (English: "Gate of the Sun") is a public square in Madrid, one of the best known and busiest places in the city. This is the centre ('' Km 0'') of the radial network of Spanish roads. The square also contains the famous clo ...

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

(and where this tradition started). The Twelve Grapes are closely related to the

time ball A time ball or timeball is a time-signalling device. It consists of a large, painted wooden or metal ball that is dropped at a predetermined time, principally to enable navigators aboard ships offshore to verify the setting of their marine chron ...

and clock of the Royal House of the Post Office in Puerta del Sol, from where the change of year is broadcast on all major TV networks in Spain, including

Televisión Española Televisión Española (acronym TVE, branded tve, "Spanish Television") is Spain's national state-owned public television broadcaster and the oldest regular television service in the country. It was also the first regular television service in ...

since 1962. The Twelve Grapes have also been adopted in places with a broad cultural relation with Spain and Latin American countries, as well as Hispanic communities in countries such as the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

has adopted the tradition as well (sometimes replacing the grapes by other fruits as oranges or watermelon). This tradition is part of the Hispanic

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

festivities.

References

External links

* {{New Year New Year celebrations Spanish traditions Viticulture