Gen Z claim they’ve discovered a ‘hack’ to help find love… but it’s actually a centuries-old New Year’s Eve tradition

A long-standing Spanish tradition of ringing in the new year has caught the attention of the TikTok generation, who believe it could be the key to a successful love life.

Influencers advise singles to participate in a New Year’s Eve tradition; eating 12 grapes for each of the 12 chimes at midnight, suggesting it is a ‘hack’ to help them find love.

As 2025 approaches on the horizon, the video-sharing platform has exploded with clips under the hashtag #grapetheory as Gen Z gives the national tradition a makeover.

In fact, people are now suggesting that the only thing standing between them and true love is devouring the fruit when the clock strikes midnight on December 31st.

In a now viral video, Izzy Dwyer, 19, pulls out a plastic Ziplock bag filled with grapes and puts them in her mouth while laughing.

‘I saw that on TikTok [eating the 12 grapes] it’s meant to bring you happiness in your love life and I did it with three friends,” she told the Subway.

“One had a boyfriend and me and my other boyfriend were single and now we’re both in relationships.”

“You could say it had a 100 percent success rate.”

Liliana Tuskia also took part in the ritual, filming herself sitting under a table and shoving twelve grapes into her mouth – one for each month of the year.

The video then shows her in August 2024, wearing an elegant wedding dress and being kissed by the man of her dreams.

“It really works,” Liliana wrote on TikTok.

“It worked for me too,” replied one enamored user.

She said she was single for four years before eating grapes at midnight on New Year’s Eve and the following year she got engaged to the “love of my life.”

But some of Liliana’s followers weren’t so convinced. One of them said: ‘I did it and I’m still single.’

Another user said: ‘I think my grapes were broken or something.’

A third joked: “My grapes were expired.”

Some TikTok users have even taken the grape theory to the next level, insisting that one person should also wear red underwear and eat the fruit while sitting under a table as the bells ring in the new year.

One person even suggested that single people should eat a total of 24 grapes – 12 green and 12 red – in an attempt to ‘double their happiness’.

But is there any truth to this tradition of eating grapes?

The custom of eating grapes on New Year’s Eve has its origins in Spain, where it is known as ‘las doce uvas de la suerte’ or ‘the 12 lucky grapes’.

It is believed that the tradition dates back to the early 20th century, when a group of grape farmers in Alicante tried to get rid of their excess stock.

Another theory states that a group of Madrid residents decided to eat grapes to mock the aristocratic custom of drinking wine on New Year’s Eve.

Some believe the custom actually came from France but was later popularized in Madrid, while others ate the grapes in an attempt to ward off evil spirits.

Now the trend on social media has evolved to include happiness, especially in your love life.

Be that as it may, the general premise remains the same and tradition is at the heart of New Year’s celebrations in Spain.

On the evening of December 31, televisions across the country light up with the image of the Puerta del Sol – a square in the center of Madrid.

As the Real Case de Correos bell rings twelve times to mark midnight, thousands of people eat their grapes to the rhythm of the twelve bells.

At the same time, many people throughout Spain and even parts of Latin America take part in the tradition of ringing in the New Year from the comfort of their own homes.

So whether you eat twelve grapes on Puerta del Sol, from your living room or under a table while sitting in red lingerie, the belief is that if you succeed, your year will be filled with happiness.

Whether or not the grape theory works, thousands will try it before 2025.

And if it doesn’t work? There’s always next year.