Can grapes bring you luck? The Spanish believe it, and at midnight on New Year’s Eve across the country it’s a race to swallow 12 grapes before the first minute of the year passes.
The 12 grapes, representing the months of the year, must be eaten one by one before the clock strikes 12:01. If the grapes are consumed, tradition says that good luck will be on your side throughout the year.
Where does the tradition of eating 12 grapes come from?
The origins of the “grapes of luck” tradition are difficult to trace. The idea may have started with grape farmers in Alicante, Spain, to unload a surplus in the early 1900s, Atlas Obscura reported. Grapes are a reasonably priced crop that tend to do well, and there are often surpluses so that the fruit can be brought in at a good price.
Or it could have been the bourgeoisie of Madrid copying the French tradition of having grapes and champagne on the last day of the year, NPR reported. But history says that the people of Madrid wanted to rebel against class distinctions and decided to mock the aristocrats by going to the Puerta del Sol to eat grapes accompanied by the sound of bells.
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Whatever the beginnings were, the tradition has caught on like wildfire in Spain. Supermarket chains such as Mercadona and Super Sol advertise and sell “lucky grapes” throughout Spain.
Mercadona, one of Spain’s largest grocery chains, announced four ways to buy grapes for the occasion. Alicante’s natural seeded grape adds “an element of fun to the tradition of the 12 grapes”. The seeds provide a “crunch”, said the supermarket. Consumers can also buy seedless grapes, or prepackaged grapes “specially selected and packaged in the exact amount needed for each bell.”
Pre-packaged grapes allow revelers to open the grapes at the precise moment the clock turns and not worry about counting or peeling the grapes in the midst of the excitement of the celebration.
Grapes can also be taken peeled and chopped in a can. These grapes are among the most popular with Spaniards because of their convenience, the supermarket said.
What are the exact rules for the New Year’s grape tradition?
No matter how the grapes are bought, eating them at midnight New Year’s Eve is key to celebrating it in Spain Celebrants must eat the grape before the clock strikes 12:01 a.m., and if eaten whole, tradition says that good luck will be on your side all year.
The Spanish usually choose green grapes for this tradition.
Where did the idea of eating grapes under the table come from?
Eating grapes under a table isn’t part of Spain’s original tradition, but it may be a 21st-century twist that’s spreading to social media. TikTok users posted on social media and said they ate 12 grapes, either red or green, under a table, hoping that single people who eat grapes under a table for New Year’s fall in love soon
User @annadstoddard he posted it after eating grapes under a table he was lucky in love. The footage shows her placing a twisted napkin on what appears to be her partner’s finger.
TikTok user @helenguillen, now @helengmorales, posted in 2022 that he ate grapes under the table on New Year’s Eve and got engaged afterwards. In the video, shows off her engagement ring.