Twelve grapes, twelve clock strikes.

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

I am trying to write in English the following and I would be really glad if someone could help me.

  • In Spain, we celebrate the arrival of the New Year in a very particular way. In my view, quite different from other countries. In New Year’s Eve we all sit down from of the telly or meet in the Mayor Square and we eat twelve grapes as the clock strike twelve/following the twelve first clock strikes. -

How could I better express that idea?

Thank you for your help!

2

“we eat twelve grapes as the clock strikes twelve” sounds good to me.

I would make some other changes:

"In Spain, we celebrate the arrival of the New Year in a very particular way – in my view, quite differently from other countries. On New Year’s Eve we all sit down in front of the TV or meet in the ??? … "

If you mean “Plaza Mayor” as a proper name then I wouldn’t try to translate it. Most English speakers understand what “Plaza” means, and if you say “Mayor Square” it sounds like it’s referring to “mayor” as in the local government officer, which, as I understand it, is not what the Spanish means anyway.

But if you mean it generically, you could say “main square”.

3

Hello Dozy,

I really appreciate your help and comments to my question.

I have understood that I shouldn’t have translated into English “Plaza Mayor”. As as English student I tend to translate every single word even when I tell to myself it is not always necessary. ;.)
I would also like to say, to your knowledge, that generally in both places/spaces/areas “Plaza Mayor” and “Mayor Square” the building known as “Ayuntamiento” is located. Hence my tendency to use that word.

4

It’s an interesting point because I think that English “mayor” and Spanish “mayor” actually come from the same Latin root. However, the English word has taken on a specialised meaning, and I think it’s now merely a coincidence that the Plaza Mayor usually contains local government offices, and “mayor” also happens to be an English word for a local government officer. Therefore the translation to “Mayor Square” does not really work, in my opinion.