The “12 grapes” is a New Year’s Eve tradition where you eat 12 grapes in sync with the final clock chimes before midnight, one grape for each month of the coming year, to attract good luck.

What the 12 grapes are

  • The 12 grapes (Spanish: las doce uvas de la suerte) are a Spanish and Latin American New Year’s ritual.
  • You eat 12 grapes during the last 12 clock strikes before midnight on December 31, each grape symbolizing one month of good fortune in the year ahead.

How to do it step by step

  1. Prepare 12 grapes per person on a small plate or cup before midnight.
  1. If you worry about choking, peel and deseed them in advance, especially for kids or anyone who eats slowly.
  1. When the main clock (TV broadcast, town square, or a countdown app) starts the 12 final chimes, pop one grape into your mouth for each chime.
  1. Try to finish chewing/swallowing all 12 by the last chime; tradition says this brings a lucky, prosperous year.
  1. Many people make a quick wish or set an intention with each grape, like “health,” “work,” or “love” for that month.

Tips, tricks, and variations

  • Use small, seedless, green or white grapes; in Spain, a special Aledo grape is common because of its thin skin.
  • If 12 seconds feels too fast, some families “practice” earlier in the evening or eat a little ahead of the chime to avoid choking.
  • On social media and in recent videos, people pair each grape with a manifestation or affirmation, treating it as a mini intention-setting ritual rather than pure superstition.

Quick “forum-style” take

If you’re doing it “classic Spanish style,” line up 12 small green grapes, turn on the New Year’s broadcast, and eat one grape with each bell – no pauses, no cheating, just chaos and laughter at midnight.

TL;DR: Put 12 grapes on a plate, and when the final 12 chimes to midnight start, eat one grape per chime, each one standing for a month of luck and intentions in the new year.

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