The Twelve Grapes of Luck (las doce uvas de la suerte) is a tradition of eating 12 grapes for each time the clock bell tolls at the start of a new year (or more accurately, trying to shovel twelve grapes into your gob faster than your friends can). Originally a Spanish tradition (although now reaching Latin American countries and the Philippines), it is most closely connected to the time ball of the Royal House of the Post Office in Puerto del Sol.

If you decide to partake in the tradition this year, be careful not to get carried away and start cramming them in too soon - it’s considered bad luck to start the grape-eating before midnight.

Dating back to the late 19th century, the grapes are eaten to symbolise good luck for each month of the new year year. However, like all good traditions with consumerist roots, it wasn’t until 1909 when the tradition became fully established, when vine growers decided to cash in on some lucky grapes after an exceptional harvest.

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