With the start of the new year, students look to 2026 with resolutions in mind, and with the help of a Tik Tok trend discovered back in 2021, students are attempting to manifest a good year with the use of twelve grapes.
Social media has brought back to light to what is now a popular New Year’s Eve practice stemming from a Spanish tradition started back in the late 1800s, it is said that eating twelve grapes under a table at midnight will bring love and prosperity in all twelve months of the year. Each grape symbolizes one month, and it is typically done under a table or surrounded by friends and family at midnight on Dec. 31.
The many origin stories of this tradition all date back to the late 1800’s Spain, and two are widely known and agreed upon. Spain had a wide cultural divide between the rich and working class in that time. During special events and holidays, the rich would enjoy grapes as a sign of luxury. With the intention of mocking the rich, the working class began to eat grapes on New Year’s Eve to highlight its insignificance, which ironically ended in the formation of this well-known tradition.
Another Spanish theory is that in 1895 there was a surplus of grapes in the country. In attempt to increase demand and quickly dispose of many grapes, local farmers in the area began advertising the grapes as “uvas de buena suerte” or “grapes of good luck” which made for an easy sell around the new year as many hope for prosperity.
In 2021, this Spanish tradition was publicized on social media due to its hopeful appeal. According to CBC news, the specifics of this tradition have been slightly changed to include the additional element of sitting under a table while eating the grapes, often with the hope and focus on romance in the year to come.
Today in the US, with the spread of the trend on social media platforms, different variations of the tradition have sprouted.
“I ate six purple and six green grapes I’ve heard green grapes is success and money while the purple is romance,” said senior Brooke Bondi.
“At 11:59, I went under the table and I ate 12 grapes as fast as I could, and it was a lot harder than I thought, but I finished them before it hit midnight” said junior Charlotte Darmody. Though the tradition stems from superstition, it isn’t taken lightly among participants.
“It was mostly for fun to just see what happens,” Darmody said. “In the past, it has worked for a couple of my friends. They had increased luck and a couple of them got boyfriends the year after they ate the grapes.”
With the rise of social media its influence on society is undeniable. The start of this trend embraces the outreach of social media while celebrating tradition and culture.
