To that end, while the tradition is also popular in Latin America, it’s a very big deal in Spain. Wolf, who lives in Seville, says that just like how Americans follow the goings-on in Times Square on New Year’s Eve, in Spain, everyone tunes in to the Campanadas en la Puerta de Sol, broadcast live from Madrid, to know when to eat the grapes: “It’s a joyful way to welcome the New Year with optimism and intention.”
Is eating grapes on New Year’s a choking hazard?
According to Giovine, the aforementioned choking hazard is very real—so much so that certain precautions have emerged around the tradition. “Since the late 1960s, television stations would show the bell tower at the Plaza del Sol so that people who were not in Madrid could participate,” he says. “Funny enough, because there are always some injuries, I heard that some bell ringers slow down the chiming to allow for people to consume the grapes more slowly.”
Individuals have also discovered ways to mitigate the issue. “Seedless grapes sell out very quickly in Spain on New Year’s Eve,” Wolf notes.
Do you really have to be under a table?
If you want to sit under a table, it won’t hurt. But “it’s not part of the original tradition,” Wolf says.
“I had never heard of the table component until a couple of years ago, when TikTok users started doing it,” Compora agrees, adding that the table element likely originated in Peru and may be tied to a Latin American superstition related to being protected while seeking love.
“Some think that hiding under a table is meant to attract your soul mate,” explains Wolf. “In some cultures, being under a table or performing other symbolic gestures, like wearing specific colors—allegedly red undergarments bring good luck—or holding money, have been added to the ritual for extra luck in areas like love and wealth.”
These variations also offer an interesting example of the way traditions can evolve over time. “We have to remember that all traditions—all rituals—are invented,” notes Giovine. “What makes it enduring is that it has relevance in the present and can link present participants with their (often imagined) past. People celebrate this because their parents did, and they transmit it to the future so their children do as well. For diasporic Spaniards, or for some Latin Americans, the practice of eating grapes symbolically replicates participants’ Spanish origins—much like the Feast of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve helps Italian Americans reinforce their Italian heritage.”
What color grapes are best on New Year’s?
When it comes to what color grape you choose, that, it turns out, is entirely up to you. “Traditionally, the grapes can be any color, but green grapes are most common, likely because they’re readily available and often sweeter,” Wolf says. Compora agrees: “My research indicates that red or black grapes will suffice.”
