Spaniards go out much later on New Years Eve, usually around 01:00 at night.

Normally prior to this they are with friends or family celebrating the New Year. The partying continues till at least 06:00 am but often much longer. At midnight there is a tradition of eating twelve grapes. At each chime of the clock a grape is to be eaten and each grape you successfully eat in time means one month’s good luck. The tradition was started by the king of Spain about 100 years ago, when there was a particularly big grape harvest one year and he decided to give everyone grapes to eat on New Year’s Eve. It’s a lot of fun, the only problem is that it’s almost impossible to buy seedless grapes in Spain, so at midnight you’ll find yourself biting into the seeds and having a cringe on your face, as you try to eat the grapes in time. There are four higher pitched chimes before the 12 chimes of midnight, so make sure you don’t start too early. Especially the big plaza "Puerta del Sol" in Madrid is famous for this tradition on New Year's Eve. Every year thousands of people gather there in front of the big clock to hail the new year. There are also television broadcasts of the chimes from the "Puerta del Sol" in Madrid for all those, who can't be on location. 

Another typical tradition in Spain is to wear red underwear on New Year’s Eve. It dates back to the Middle Ages, when it was prohibited to wear red, as it was associated with witchcraft, the devil and blood, so people would wear red that couldn’t be seen, as they believed the red was a symbol of life, especially during the winter months. People wore the red underwear to bring them luck for the coming year.

And what are your plans for the New Year's Eve? We wish you Happy New Year and all the best for 2012!

Your s-w-e-p Team