Celebrating New Year’s Eve in Spain: Traditional Recipes and Festive Customs
As the clock ticks down to the final moments of 2024, Spain is gearing up to welcome the new year with its unique and vibrant traditions. For expats living in Spain, integrating into these customs can be a delightful way to experience the country's rich cultural heritage.
The 12 Grapes of Luck
One of the most iconic Spanish New Year’s Eve traditions is the eating of "las doce uvas de la suerte" (the 12 lucky grapes). This custom, which dates back to 1909, involves consuming 12 grapes, one for each stroke of midnight, to ensure good luck for each month of the upcoming year. This tradition originated as a creative marketing strategy to deal with a surplus grape harvest in the Alicante region but has since become a beloved national custom. Families gather around TVs, often watching the countdown from Madrid’s Puerta del Sol, and follow the chimes to eat their grapes in time[2][3][4].
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