Tonight, as we ring in the New Year, Spaniards will gather in front of their televisions to watch the clock tower on the Real Casa de Correos strike midnight. With each of the twelve tolls of the clock at midnight, Spaniards will eat a grape. Twelve clock bell strikes, twelve grapes, for the twelve months of the year. It’s an attempt to ward off bad luck in the new year. And it’s quite an endurance feat –– it’s not easy to stuff twelve grapes into your mouth in a few seconds.
The origin of the tradition is murky. One story says that in December 1909 some wine producers in Alicante had a bumper crop of grapes, so they invented the “twelve grapes” tradition as a way to sell off their surplus. However, the tradition likely dates back to the 1880s. At that time, the Spanish bourgeoise copied the French tradition of having grapes and champagne on the last day of the year. This elitist tradition was then adopted by everyday Spaniards who, while watching the Real Casa de Correos clock on New Year’s Eve, shoved grapes in their mouth to mock the upper class.
There’s a cynical analysis of this latter origin story –– one where we see a cultural tradition that stems from class disparity –– but there’s another way to look at it. Because, no matter people’s background, they were doing the same thing on New Year’s: Eating grapes. That’s the beauty of a tradition. It unifies people.
The activity unites the Spanish-speaking world. Tonight, you can find people eating grapes in Spain, Latin America, and South America. (And also, perhaps, a lot of Gen Z’ers around the globe, thanks to #12grapes becoming a TikTok trend.) I first learned about the tradition from my high school Spanish teacher, and it’s something that for many years, I’d do with my brother; we’d watch a video of the Real Casa de Correos clock striking midnight and try our best to eat twelve grapes without choking (or, more likely, without laughing). It unified us, just as it unifies Spanish speakers around the world.
No matter how you are celebrating the New Year tonight –– with grapes or “Auld Lang Syne” or another tradition –– may your year ahead be happy, healthy, and fulfilling.
Notes.
The information above is adapted from NPR and Gastro Obscura.