When the clock strikes 12 this New Year’s Eve, many of my single friends will be sitting under tables eating grapes. Your single friends may be doing the same. Ask them. Sure, it’s odd, but it’s quickly becoming the quirkiest way to ring in the New Year and manifest love. Thanks to social media, instead of kissing strangers or sipping on champagne, the moment the clock strikes 12, single men and women will be under tables eating “lucky grapes.”
It sounds bizarre, but this new-ish TikTok trend is actually a not-so-subtle twist on a centuries-old Spain tradition. And, just like the original, the new trend promises luck and love. Still confused? Don’t worry. I’ll explain.
The Sweet History of Lucky Grapes
The original tradition is pretty straightforward, with no tables involved. At the stroke of midnight, Spaniards eat 12 grapes quickly in a race against time.
“Many Spaniards will pop 12 grapes into their mouths at midnight — one with each chime of the clock,” NPR explains. “Each grape represents a wish for happiness and luck for every month in the coming year.”
So, where did this grape-eating frenzy come from? Like most traditions, its origins are murky. One popular theory dates back to 1909 when grape farmers in Alicante, Spain, faced a surplus and cleverly marketed their extra grapes as lucky New Year’s treats.
Some say the tradition was born decades earlier though.
“ … according to food writer Jeff Koehler, newspaper articles about the tradition from the 1880s suggest it developed from Madrid’s bourgeoisie copying the French custom of drinking champagne and eating grapes on New Year’s Eve,” Atlas Obscura explains.
How Lucky Grapes Went Global
As with many European traditions, the “lucky grapes” ritual crossed the Atlantic, spreading to Central and South America and the Caribbean. Each culture put its own spin on the superstition. In Peru, for example, they eat a 13th grape for extra luck. In Portugal, raisins stand in for grapes (for reasons nobody has adequately explained). And in many places, not finishing your grapes in time is considered a bad omen. So, you’re encouraged to not choke, but maybe eat fast.
Enter TikTok’s Table Twist
Some say TikTokers started the trend by posting the table component of the New Year’s ritual about two years ago.
“I had never heard of the table component until a couple of years ago, when TikTok users started doing it,” University of Toledo professor, Dr. Daniel Compora, believes that 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.”
Throughout the year, the TikTokers posted the positive results of their grape-eating New Year’s.
“I guess the grapes worked a little too well,” Noel Marie tells her followers on TikTok. With over 1 million likes in four days, her video recounts how she met her now-husband in just weeks after participating in the table-and-grape ritual.
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Maybe these social media mavens are on to something. It’s all rooted in time-tested rituals and traditions afterall.
“Some think that hiding under a table is meant to attract your soul mate,” Babbel language teacher Noël Wolf tells Vogue. “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.”
So … Do You Really Have to Be Under the Table?
In short: no. But will it hurt your chances at luck and love if you do it? Also no. If nothing else, it’ll be fun. And who knows, maybe you’ll find someone interesting also eating under the furniture.
So grab your grapes, set your intentions, and embrace the sweet, strange rituals that make New Year’s Eve unforgettable. Are you ready to eat 12 grapes in under 12 seconds? No pressure.
