78 ~ Happy New Year to All!

Happy New Year and Feliz Año Nuevo

Here it is customary to eat twelve grapes at midnight, one on each stroke of the clock!

There was a hilarious incident one year in Madrid when the main plaza, the Puerta del Sol, was crowded with merrymakers waiting for the clock to begin striking the midnight hour. The clock is televised nationwide and folks at home watching their TVs are preparing to eat their grapes along with the rest of the country.

However someone in Madrid had forgotten to slow down the mechanism that controls the chiming of the clock, as is done for each New Year, so people have time to down their grapes, one for each stroke.

The result was that the clock struck the hour at a furious pace while the grape eaters were unable to keep up despite stuffing in the grapes at a speed enough to cause many to choke.

It later became an anecdote that would be recounted with hilarity as people remembered that night when the twelve 'uvas de la suerte' ...grapes of good luck, didn't quite make it on time that year!

Here now are some photos taken from the TV after the clock struck midnight.

Midnight in Madrid and the crowds at the Puerta del Sol, Madrid's main plaza:



And midnight in the Canary Islands. Gran Canaria and Tenerife:


The four above images were taken from TVE and Canary television, with thanks.

I wish you all a very Happy New Year and a safe, healthy and prosperous year 2010!

Oh yes and don't forget that it's customary here in Spain to put on RED UNDERWEAR for New Years Eve!

Drive safely and enjoy yourself...¡Hasta la Vista!