do you eat the grapes before or after midnight

You eat the New Year’s grapes at midnight, not before or after. The classic tradition is one grape for each of the 12 clock chimes right as the year changes.

What the tradition says

• In the original Spanish custom uvas de la suerte , you eat 12 grapes with the 12 bell strikes at midnight on December 31.

• Each grape represents good luck for one month of the coming year, so the full set should be finished during those chimes.

Before vs after midnight

• The idea is to start as the clock begins to strike midnight and finish by the end of the 12 chimes; doing it noticeably before or after is considered “off-tradition,” though many people are flexible.

• Some modern spins (like eating under a table or using it as a love/manifestation ritual) keep the same timing but are less strict about exact seconds.

How people actually do it

• Many just follow a TV countdown or local clock tower and pop one grape per chime, even if it really takes a bit longer than 12 seconds.

• To make it easier and safer, people often choose small, seedless grapes and prep them in advance so they can eat them quickly at the stroke of midnight.

TL;DR: For the tradition to “count,” eat the grapes during the 12 chimes as it turns midnight, aiming to finish by the end of those chimes, not well before or after.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.