The Twelve Grapes [1] (Sp. las doce uvas de la suerte, "the twelve grapes of luck") is a Spanish tradition that consists of eating a grape with each of the twelve clock bell strikes at midnight of 31 December to welcome the New Year. Each grape and clock bell strike represents each of the coming twelve months. [2]
This tradition dates back from at least 1895 [3] but was greatly popularized in 1909. In December of that year, some Alicantese vine growers spread this custom to encourage grape sales due to overproduction during an excellent harvest. According to the tradition, eating the Twelve Grapes leads to a year of good luck and prosperity. [4] In some areas, this practice was also believed to ward off witches and evil in general, [4] [2] although today it is mostly followed as a tradition to celebrate and welcome the New Year.
There are two types of places where people gather to eat the grapes: at home with family members after Nochevieja dinner, or in the main squares around the country, with the most famous being the Puerta del Sol in Madrid (and where this tradition started). The Twelve Grapes are closely related to the time ball and clock of the Royal House of the Post Office in Puerta del Sol, from where the change of year is broadcast on all major national television networks and radio stations, with television broadcasting beginning in 1962 on Televisión Española. [5] [6]
The Twelve Grapes have also been adopted in places with a broad cultural relation with Spain, Latin American, and Caribbean countries, [7] as well as Hispanic communities in countries such as the United States. [8] This tradition is part of the Hispanic Christmas festivities. It is also done by some Jamaican locals.
In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, 31 December. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated with dancing, eating, drinking, and watching or lighting fireworks. Some Christians attend a watchnight service. The celebrations generally go on past midnight into New Year's Day, 1 January.
The Puerta del Sol is a public square in Madrid, one of the best known and busiest places in the city. This is the centre of the radial network of Spanish roads. The square also contains the famous clock whose bells mark the traditional eating of the Twelve Grapes and the beginning of a new year. The New Year's celebration has been broadcast live since 31 December 1962 on major radio and television networks including Atresmedia and RTVE.
Natalia Altea Jiménez Sarmento is a Spanish singer-songwriter who started her musical career in the 2000s as vocalist of La Quinta Estación. Her first disc as a soloist was titled Natalia Jiménez. She has received Grammy and Latin Grammy Awards and has sold more than 3 million albums worldwide, during her solo career. She has recorded duets with the main stars of Latin music, including Marc Anthony, Daddy Yankee and Ricky Martin among others.
María del Carmen García Galisteo, known professionally as Carmen Sevilla, was a Spanish actress, singer, and dancer. She began her career in the 1940s and became one of the most popular and highest paid stars of Spanish cinema until the 1970s. In 1991, at the age of sixty, she began her career as a television presenter, working for the three major Spanish networks until her retirement in 2010. At the time of her death, she was one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Mexican cinema and from the Golden Age of Hollywood.
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This is a list of Spanish television related events from 1961.
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The Royal House of the Post Office is an eighteenth century building in Puerta del Sol, Madrid. It was built for the postal service, but currently serves as the office of the President of the Community of Madrid, the head of the regional government of the Autonomous Community of Madrid. This should not be confused with the City Council of Madrid, which is housed in another former post office, the Cybele Palace.
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This is a list of Spanish television related events from 1962.
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The history of the Puerta del Sol represents an essential part of the memory of the Villa de Madrid, not only because the Puerta del Sol is a point of frequent passage, but also because it constitutes the "center of gravity" of Madrid's urban planning. The square has been acquiring its character as a place of historical importance from its uncertain beginnings as a wide and impersonal street in the sixteenth century, to the descriptions of the first romantic travelers, the receptions of kings, popular rebellions, demonstrations, etc. It has been the scene of major events in the life of the city, from the struggle against the French invaders in 1808 to the proclamation of the Second Republic in 1931, and it has also retained its place as the protagonist of the custom of serving Twelve Grapes on New Year's Eve, to the sound of the chimes struck by the Correos clock. Nowadays it is a communications hub, a meeting point, a place of appointments, a place for celebrations and the beginning of demonstrations in the Capital.
Sandra Daviú Ripoll is a Spanish journalist and television presenter.
A las doce en punto de la noche saludaron los ministros la entrada del nuevo año comiendo ricas uvas ...