If you’ve been on TikTok recently, you may have seen people talking about how at midnight on New Year’s Eve, they plan on eating grapes to bring them good luck for the year ahead.
In case you were confused like we were, let us explain it to you.
According to NPR, the tradition originates back to 19th-century Spain, where people would celebrate the New Year by eating 12 grapes at each toll on the clock, with each one representing a month in the year.
“Eating one grape at each of midnight’s 12 clock chimes guarantees you a lucky year — if and only if you simultaneously ruminate on their significance,” according to Atlas Obscura.
It seems that over the years, the Spanish tradition has morphed with the Latin American tradition of sitting under a table at midnight, as many people are now sitting under tables to eat the grapes for the countdown.
@andreswilley forget a new years kiss, catch me under the table 😭💀
The more luck you can get I guess?
One woman has claimed the tradition works, sharing a video of her sitting under a table and eating a bowl of grapes for the NYE countdown and then flashing forward to nine months later when she got engaged.
“My fam made fun of me for believing, but look who has the ring now” she captioned the video.
@helenguillen My fam made fun of me for believing, but look who has the ring now 🫣 #engaged #newyearseve #HolidayOREOke
Another person shared a video raving about the trend, writing “the grapes were the best decision ever made.”
@polo.gi_ the grapes were the best decision ever made❤️ truly so lucky to have him #newyearseve #grapes #greenscreenvideo #greenscreen
People have warned that if you don’t complete the tradition properly, you might give yourself bad luck for the year, so let’s outline exactly how it’s done.
Each person needs 12 grapes and when it gets to the final 12 seconds of the year, each person needs to eat a grape for every second, just be careful not to choke!
@sheswanderful A6: I do the Spanish grape eating for NYE. 12 grapes in 12 seconds at midnight. More dangerous than it sounds #sheswanderful pic.twitter.com/ieH3GWQuUv
— Mary Clare Bland (@mary_clare299) December 14, 2016
Go out and grab some grapes, your 2024 self will thank you for it!
Listen to the New Year’s Eve Party playlist on iHeart Radio below!
