Why eat 12 grapes for the New Year? Here’s what you need to know about the lucky charm tradition.

Can grapes bring you luck? The Spanish believe in this, and at midnight on New Year’s Eve, there is a race across the country to see who can eat 12 grapes before the first minute of the year has passed.

The 12 grapes, which represent the months of the year, must be eaten one by one before the clock changes to 12:01. If grapes are consumed, tradition says that luck will follow you all year.

Where does the tradition of eating 12 grapes come from?

Origin of “uvas de la suerte” tradition they are hard to trace. The idea may have started with grape growers in Alicante, Spain, relieve the excess of the early 1900s, Atlas Obscura reported. Grapes are an affordable crop that does well, and there are often surpluses, so the fruit can be brought cheaply.

Or maybe the Madrid bourgeoisie copied the French tradition of drinking grapes and champagne on the last day of the year, NPR announced. But the story goes that the people of Madrid wanted to rebel against class differences and decided to mock the aristocrats by going to the Puerta del Sol to eat grapes to the sound of bells.

Whatever the beginnings, the tradition caught on like wildfire in Spain. Supermarket chains such as Mercadona and Super Sol advertise and sell “uas de la suerte” throughout Spain.

Mercadona, one of the largest Spanish grocery chains, advertised four ways to buy grapes for this occasion. Natural bunches of seeded grapes from Alicante add “an element of fun to the tradition of 12 grape varieties.” The seeds give a “crunchy touch”, said the supermarket. Consumers can also purchase seedless or packaged grapes “specially selected and packaged with the exact amount needed for each bell.”

Pre-packaged grapes allow visitors to open the grapes right as the clock changes and not worry about counting or peeling the grapes in the midst of the excitement of the celebration.

Grapes can be bought both peeled and pitted in a can. This grape is among the most popular for Spaniards because of its practicality, the supermarket says.

What are the exact rules for the New Year grape tradition?

No matter how the grapes were bought, eat them at midnight Nochevieja is key to the celebration in Spain. Celebrants should eat the grapes before the clock strikes 00:01, and if they are completely consumed, tradition says that luck will follow you 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 the table is not part of the original tradition from Spain, but is perhaps a 21st century twist that spreads through social media. TikTok users have taken to social media and said they are eating 12 grapes – red or green – under the table, in the hope that singles who eat grapes under the table on New Year’s Day will soon fall in love.

User @annadstoddard she posted it after eating grapes under the table she was lucky in love. The footage shows him placing a twisted napkin ring on what appears to be his partner’s finger.

TikTok user @helenguillen — now @helengmorales — announced in 2022 that she ate grapes under the table on New Year’s Eve and got engaged afterward. IN video, shows the engagement ring.