It’s almost midnight, and many people started to count down from 10, holding a cup of grapes waiting for it to be the new year.

They’re excited to eat the grapes, in hopes that this year will be the year for them.

The Spanish tradition of 12 grapes of midnight dates back in the 1800s, but in the 1900s that very tradition became popularized for everyone to share and experience together. This tradition is called “Las doce uvas de la suerte” which means “The 12 lucky Grapes”. It is tradition to eat green grapes to ensure luck, each grape out of the 12 represents one month of the year to make it a lucky year.

“It can be difficult to consume grapes this fast, and the lucky grapes of New Year’s Eve have seeds in them,” Adventure Airtech says, “making the job even trickier. (Seedless grapes are not common in Spain the way they are over here.) For people to manage eating all the grapes before the last stroke of midnight requires swallowing the seeds as well and only taking a single bite of each grape.”

Because many people struggle to eat 12 grapes at midnight in a certain amount of time, it is also okay to eat at 12 grapes during the 12 second countdown for the new year to ensure your good luck for the new year.

“At midnight on the night of December 31 to January 1,” According to ESTUDIO Samples, “12 grapes are eaten, or rather, swallowed to the rhythm of the 12 chimes (in 36 seconds). These grapes are also known as the 12 grapes of good luck.”

If the 12 grapes are not finished however, you will be facing misfortune in the new year, that is why it is so important to be able to eat the 12 grapes in time to have a good year.

“Either way, Spanish tradition eventually became a superstition that spread to Central and South America.” Atlas Obscura says, “Eating one grape at each of midnight’s 12 clock chimes guarantees you a lucky year—if and only if you simultaneously ruminate on their significance. (Each grape represents an upcoming month.) If you fail to conscientiously finish your grapes by the time the clock stops chiming, you’ll face misfortune in the new year.”

The moment it striked midnight everyone eats the grapes immediately. Hoping that this year will be the year for them, after eating the grapes were finished they enjoyed the rest of the night with family and friends, optimistic for the year to come.