All across the globe, people follow a myriad of traditions on New Year's Eve and the most unique among them hands down has to be the custom of eating 12 grapes under the table at midnight.
People follow the tradition to manifest love, luck, wealth, prosperity and personal success for the New Year ahead. The tradition has its roots dating back to late 1800s in Madrid where it's called 'Las Doce Uvas de la Suerte' meaning 'The 12 Grapes of Luck'.
This fun trend is quite simple: When the clock strikes midnight on December 31, eat your 12 grapes, where each grape symbolises every month of the year. If you complete this ritual, it is believed to bring you luck and prosperity in the New Year.
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How it all began
While the ritual came into global spotlight in 2024, it actually began in 1880s. It is believed to have started among Madrid's elite, who sought inspiration from the French custom of drinking champagne and eating grapes on New Year's Eve.
In the 1900s, this ritual became further popular when Alicante grape farmers experienced a surplus harvest and pushed the ritual into practice to sell the produce, as noted by Mint report.
Blinkit and Zepto join trend
Blinkit has the option for people to buy 'New Year Good-luck Grapes' that comes as a pack of 12 grapes precisely and is priced at Rs 99. Zepto has also launched 'Good Luck Grapes Red Imported' as part of the trend. They are priced at Rs 88 for a 250 gm box.
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Social media abuzz
Miss Karnataka Icon 2021 Bhavana Bhagwat took to Instagram and wrote, "Good luck grapes for NY." Below her post, she tagged Blinkit.
Aniket Shah, CEO of Swish, a 10-minute food delivery app, wrote on X, "Ending the year on a grape note! 12 grapes for 12 months of the year. Make sure you wish before you eat."
On December 31 in 2024, Blinkit CEO Albinder Dhindsa highlighted the "sudden craze" for grapes with a graph on X. "It's one of the highest ordered items on the platform since morning!" he posted.
A few days ago, a Redditor shared that she had grapes on December 31, 2023 and met her boyfriend in 2024. "Now I'm just wondering if y'all had it and whether it worked for you," she said.
In an Instagram reel, 'withluvyukta' stated, "...This ritual, rooted in Spanish culture, involves eating one grape for each month, representing a desire for prosperity and love. To follow this tradition, eat 12 grapes at midnight, one at each clock strike, while making 12 wishes for the new year."
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Another Redditor said, "While everyone’s busy making resolutions and acting like they’ve got it all figured out, I’ll be under the table at exactly 12 am, quietly eatin’ my 12 grapes, hoping they’re somehow shaping the year ahead not taking any risks this ny haha!"
So are you going to eat your 12 grapes tonight?
