Vocabulario básico de Navidad en español

What does “tomar las uvas” mean in Spain at New Year?

In Spain, tomar las uvas (“to eat the grapes”) is a famous New Year’s Eve custom. At midnight you eat twelve grapes, one for each chime of the clock, in the last twelve seconds of the year. People believe eating all twelve in time brings good luck for the new year. Note that in this set phrase, tomar las uvas means to eat (have) the grapes, not “to take” them.

The clip lists it with other New Year words: Feliz Año Nuevo, Tomar las uvas. Ropa interior roja (“Happy New Year, eat the grapes, red underwear”). The red underwear is a second Spanish custom, worn at midnight to attract love for the year ahead.