There’s a trend I partake in every New Year’s Eve: 12 grapes under the table at midnight. But this isn’t my tradition. It’s a tradition taken from Hispanic Heritage, unbeknownst to me until I was researching what to write this week.
No one really knows where the tradition comes from, but there are a lot of theories.
One theory is in the late 1800’s in Madrid, people gathered in Puerta del Sol to mimic the French tradition of champagne and grapes.
Another story is from the 1900’s, where “12 lucky grapes” happened on accident. Grape growers in Alicante, Spain had a surplus of grapes growing during the holiday season, so they sold them as “lucky grapes” as a way to sell the excess.
Whatever way the tradition came about, it is widely celebrated in Hispanic heritage today and has made its way to other cultures.
Why 12 grapes?
In Spanish, the 12 grapes are called las doce uvas de la suerte otherwise known as “the 12 lucky grapes”. At midnight, with each chime of the clock, one grape is eaten. Each grape, along with each chime, represents one out of the 12 months of the year. If you finish all before the clock stops chiming, you have good luck for the upcoming year.
It sounds easy, but eating 12 grapes in less than 60 seconds is no small feat. Suddenly, it’s a race against your friends, and the clock.
While I never knew how this tradition came about, I still can appreciate it. You don’t have to grow up with the tradition or know how it originated to partake in it.
Oftentimes we partake in traditions without knowing why. Something that was passed down, from great-grandparents, to grandparents, and to my parents, and I just followed suit. You never really know where traditions come from, but we do them anyways. Once you find out where the tradition came from, the value finally appears.
When I was wondering about what I was going to write this week, during my research I found out the simple TikTok trend that I partook in the last few years. Now, when I slide under the table, with a cup of grapes in my hand, I will remember this, and the value of it.
So, next New Year’s Eve, grab a bag of grapes in your party prep. Put 12 grapes in a cup for you and each of your friends, and count down to the New Year. When the clock strikes twelve, eat those grapes as fast as you can, and remember all those who ate grapes at New Year’s before you.
You might just run into some luck along the way.