There is a fresh bundle of grapes in the fridge in December. That could only mean one thing. New Year’s is here! It is the age old tradition of scarfing down 12 grapes just before the clock strikes midnight. Every Spanish household and party will be giving out these grapes for people to make a wish for each of the coming twelve months of the new year. Even that year my good friend Moni and I snuck our way past celebrating partygoers in Times Square, we brought grapes and rice to fulfill our New Year traditions. Puerto Ricans throw rice on New Years, who knew? Makes for a very interesting party game, and some very messy subway riders. Now back to the grapes. If you want to participate in this cherished family tradition of mine, and hey you get 12 wishes so why not, you need to count out 12 grapes for each person in your party. When you have less than one minute left till midnight you need to stand prepared. Timed correctly, you start to eat each grape just before the countdown. 10! 9! 8! 7! by this time your mouth should be full of grapes. 6! 5! 4! 3! 2! Stuff them in there. 1! HAPPY NEW YEAR! Let the double kissing commence and avoid letting the grape juice drip down the side of your mouth. Not everyone can accomplish this feat, but for those who do, there are lots of bragging rights.
So where did this tradition originate. Funny enough when you’ve been doing a tradition your whole life, you don’t really know the reasoning behind such acts, so I went to trusty google and asked the internet sages. According to a few trusted internet sources (wiki and epicurious) the tradition started because grape growers wanted to get rid of the grape surplus and make some money. Oh no another greeting card holiday! Even if the grape growers started this tradition, I’m not taking any chances. I want good luck next year, and it’s really funny to watch everyone give each other their New Year’s kiss with grapes still stuffed in the side of their mouth.
This year I decided to spend a quite evening at home with my family. While I really enjoy the crazy partying of New Year’s celebration’s past, something made me want to curl on the couch and watch Dick Clark instead. Is he still in charge of New Years? I have a kitchen with cream, rice, milk, eggs, and sugar waiting for me, and in a couple minutes I will go downstairs and commence the arroz con leche and crema Catalana.
This will be Nico’s first New Year’s with us and seeing as he really enjoy Christmas I think he’ll enjoy this holiday as well. Since puppies can’t have grapes like the rest of us, he will be eating 12 pieces of doggy kibble before the clock strikes midnight. On Christmas he gobbled down some doggy frozen yogurt, oh yes it does exist. Here is a picture of him after he ripped open his present on Christmas. Feliz Año Nuevo a todos!
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