What if you ate 12 grapes and it didn’t work out

It’s the second year in a row that I’ve seen the internet breaking over the 12 grapes eaten at midnight on New Year’s, but the reasons have changed in the last year.

Two years ago, a non-Iberian audience discovered the luso-Hispanic tradition of eating 12 grapes, one for every month of the coming year, one wish per grape. If your Instagram or TikTok feed is curated in a similar fashion to mine, you’ve seen clips of people wishing to find the love of their lives in the upcoming year.

As the year went by, I forgot about how obsessed people seem to be with this trend, but of course, those who wished for a partner did not forget the fact that they were ending 2025 without having met someone to cross the new year with. 

Because when you ask the universe for a partner, by eating a grape, and the universe doesn’t grant you that simple wish, you make sure to let social media know how deceived you were. Shocker, right? How could it not have happened?

The thing about grapes is that it’s not so much about eating the grapes and having highly specific wishes granted to you. First of all, the grape is merely symbolic. And it’s good that you found out about this tradition being done with grapes rather than raisins. 

I felt quite betrayed when I found out that, while I was pushing through the ingestion of raisins, my Spanish neighbors were relishing in juicy grapes. And some people even do it with M&M’s, because it’s tastier, and eating 12 grapes in 12 seconds is unrealistic. So why do we do it?

In those 12 seconds, we ask the world for the things that really matter to us. Without too much thinking or curation with the intent of being niche, most people ask for variations of the same wishes. 

These wishes are usually simple nouns that, later, we take the time to decode what they mean to us and how we look for their completion. Asking for highly specific things that are realistically hard to obtain can develop negative habits in us. Instead of recognizing the effort needed to achieve a goal, or accepting that it just wasn’t the occasion, we blame the world for not granting us trivial wishes, possibly becoming bitter human beings with toxic coping mechanisms. 

And that’s not very demure of us, is it? Of course, these are extremely trivial when someone lives in fair stability. And there is nothing wrong with having big dreams and hopes. Just because eating 12 grapes didn’t work out once, it doesn’t mean it won’t at some point. In the end, this is a tradition of repetition and hope.

If by the end of 2026 you still want to take your shot at this tradition, here are a few examples of what a wish might look like (you will notice how similar to manifesting these can be):

Love: This year, I wish to develop deeper connections with those around me and meet new people. By giving love to others, I will attract it, and I might make a great new friend.

Peace: I will strive to stay out of drama and face life more positively. I hope the year goes by with ease, and I will do what I can to live a mindful life. I will look for opportunities where I can contribute to aiding someone and making their lives more peaceful as well.

Money: This year, I will be more accountable for how much I spend and on what. I will start saving towards a goal, or this is the year I look for a new job.

Health: I hope that this year no one suffers from dangerous illnesses, and that those close to me stay safe. I will do my best to support those who are sick or frail, in hopes that they will recover.

Time: I will be more mindful of how I spend my time and put effort toward what is important to me (e.g., family, friends, hobbies, etc).

Grades: I will analyze my weaknesses and find strategies to get over them, so I can improve. I will seek support from those who know more.