Tag: Puerta del Sol

New Year's Eve  in Spain - Why do Spaniards end the year with a bowl full of grapes in their hands? The Spanish tradition says that in order to have 12 months of good luck in the New Year you have to eat 12 grapes at exactly 12 o'clock on the night of the 31st of December; also, it is important to eat one grape at the time with the sound of each midnight bell. Therefore, it is recommendable to buy small grapes and to be careful not to choke because we have heard of some disasters…. Where does this curious tradition come from that every year plants us in front of places like Madrid's Puerta del Sol? Grapes are the fruit of the wine which has very important symbolism related to the divine, to the mystic and to life. According to Greek mythology, Dionysus (Bacchus for the Romans) was the god of wine. He represented pleasure and the joy of life. Grapes are also a symbol of prosperity, abundance and as they are the basic ingredient to be transformed into wine ... they are also very much related to festivity and union.  So why not celebrate New Year's Eve  with the best symbol for prosperity? In Spain, the midnight bells on the last day of the year are transmitted on television and everyone is curious which famous presenters will have the honor of moderating the night - which is really a show with music and dance etc. Everyone will also keep an eye on their clothes that they will immediately criticize the next day: be it that the lady showed too much decolleté, that the dress was too transparent or that it was simply spectacular! As far as history is concerned, popular belief states that the twelve "lucky" grapes