How many years has the ‘tió’ been shitting gifts?

The story of the Christmas ‘tió’ is centuries old and very curious. Surely you have already found yours in some corner of the forest or it has appeared at home without warning, but how many years has the ‘tió’ been shitting gifts? What is the history of this mythological Christmas creature? Agent Jennifer Roca explains it to us.

“Soca” [Wood], “Christmas log” or “Christmas tió”. This is the name given to this Catalan Christmas creature, whether male or female. Without delay, the ‘tió’ arrives at Catalan homes at Christmas to gorge himself, at night, on all kinds of food — they have a great fondness for mandarins — until 25 December. That is when, if we sing the ‘tió’ song and it is poked very hard in the belly with a stick, it shits presents incessantly.

One of the historical curiosities about the ‘tió’ is the moment when it practically became extinct in Catalonia, after the Second World War. In the old days, in the farmhouses, the Christmas log was placed next to the fireplace, but when the Catalan peasants emigrated to the big cities in search of work, as they lived in flats, they thought it was no longer necessary to celebrate this ancient tradition. 

It was not until the 1970s that Ferran Margarit had the brilliant idea of painting a face on the ‘tió’ and putting it on sale at the Santa Llúcia fair in Barcelona. The initiative was a success, because it reminded children of the tradition of the Christmas ‘tió’, which had almost disappeared. Since then, the passion for getting the ‘tió’ to shit has not stopped growing. Do you want to know more about it? Just watch the video!

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Central banks have become an indispensable tool for the functioning and regulation of the global monetary system. But it all started with the financial panic triggered by Johan Palmstruch, banker and creator of the modern banknote.

Johan Palmstruch is remembered today as a pioneer, but he could also be considered a swindler. This 17th-century Dutch businessman and merchant modernised the world’s monetary and banking system almost unintentionally. Just for his own interests.

The first central bank

Sweden was embroiled in armed conflicts that required the crown to invest more and more money. So Palmstruch persuaded King Carl X Gustaf of Sweden to set up Stockholms Banco in 1657. It was a private bank, but the king was the CEO and half of the profits went to the crown. It was, therefore, the forerunner of central banking.

The business case was obvious because the Swedish government supported the bank. At that time there were copper, silver and gold coins in the country. Sweden was a major producer of copper, but debt from military adventurism kept accumulating and the parity of the copper coinage with silver and gold was becoming more and more difficult. Copper was depreciating due to the arrival of low-cost copper from Asia, which meant that 19-kilo copper coins had to be produced to maintain parity.

The role of deposits

In this context, Palmstruch introduced another novelty: he asked for permission to use customer deposits to give loans. This is quite normal now, but at the time it was innovative. He made a risk calculation and thought that a scenario where all customers would come forward to claim their money would never arise. He was wrong.

Copper continued to depreciate, and in 1660 the Swedish government decided to issue new coins. The bank’s customers asked to withdraw their old coins to spend them before they continued to lose value, but Palmstruch could not give everyone their money back. What was his next idea?

The creation of the modern banknote

Now, banknotes are our commonly used currency, but back then they were nothing more than a forward flight. A type of promissory note that he invented and got the crown to authorise it. The notes they printed were nothing more than a promise to pay the bearer. Palmstruchers, as they were known, were the first modern banknotes. We insist that this was a monetary innovation that was only born to plug a financial hole.

Paper money as a certificate of deposit had been in circulation for quite some time. But the Palmstruchers were the first banknotes in the current sense: issued on paper for a fixed amount, to the bearer, backed by the government and without the need to specify the depositor, the amount of the deposit or the interest. Was that enough? It wasn’t.

Bailout and central bank

Stockholm’s Bank issued too many banknotes and credit soared. The bank failed in 1664 and the government had to bail it out and return the money to the customers. Palmstruch went to prison, was released in 1670 and died a year later.

He had been convicted of fraud and, strangely enough, ended up creating the entities that would have to regulate that there was no fraud. As the Stockholms Banco was liquidated in 1667, the following year the government created the Bank of Stockholm. Now it was the first fully public central bank. With parliamentary control, to finance the government and with a ban on issuing banknotes.

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For years we have been witnessing a change in shopping habits. While in traditional commerce customers physically visit the shop, look, choose and pay, in e-commerce the essence is exactly the same, but in the digital world. So one defines the other, but what are the differences? The agent Mònica Cornudella sums them up. 

The first big difference between one and the other, of course, is the space: the physical shop or the virtual shop. With e-commerce, you can buy from home, and this is a great advantage. The second difference is also in favour of e-commerce: the opening hours. While in traditional commerce we have to stick to a set opening hours, in e-commerce we can shop at any time of the day. In addition, location is a third differentiating factor: while one allows you to buy locally, with the other you can find products from the other side of the world.

But beware, because the fourth difference is the relationship between the buyer and the seller, and on this point who benefits the most, today, is traditional commerce, because physical shopping allows you to establish a close relationship, while in e-commerce the whole process has been automated and the interaction is much colder.

In addition, there is still a fifth difference to be taken into account: how the buyer ensures the quality of the product. In traditional commerce, you can touch and compare the products; and in e-commerce you can at most see a good photo gallery or video. The last difference is in payment: which is better, paying on the spot or when the product arrives at your home? Just find out in the video below.

11Onze is becoming a phenomenon as the first Fintech community in Catalonia. Now, it releases the first version of El Canut, the super app of 11Onze, for Android and Apple. El Canut, the first universal account can be opened in Catalan territory.

If he has everything, if it’s the right size, if she’ll like it… Giving Christmas presents can sometimes be a hassle. But we don’t have to buy for the sake of buying. We can give gifts in a conscious, responsible and caring way. Junior product manager Sara Casals gives us some tips.

With solidarity gifts you will always get it right and there is as much variety as there are non-governmental organisations, social entities and federations in the world. To start with, the gift can be a solidarity card with which we make a donation on behalf of a third party. But they can also be gifts, because these organisations usually have online shops where they promote their cause with merchandising. Here is a list of some of them:

• Arrels Fundació, a dignified work. This organisation, which supports homeless people, has been helping them for a long time through an occupational workshop, where they make a wide range of products. In their shop you will find a lot of objects made by people in vulnerable situations. This year, they have also opened a physical shop in the centre of Barcelona, La Troballa, where you can find all their products.
• Proactiva Open Arms, against the refugee crisis. The NGO that rescues people at the gates of Europe, in the Mediterranean Sea, has a shop where they sell all kinds of merchandising products, but where you can also find special gifts, such as tickets to solidarity concerts or gift cards to support their cause.
• Botiga solidària de Sant Joan de Déu, the double gift. In this solidarity shop you can give two gifts in one: you will make the person who will receive the gift happy, but you will also help all the people who need to be cared for. You can find everything from socks to wafers, bracelets, notebooks, boxes of chocolates and sweets, and even corporate gifts.
• Top Manta, the diversity shop. A good number of street vendors in Barcelona, fed up with police persecution and exhausted by the obstacles to regularising their administrative situation, founded Top Manta, an ecological, diverse, solidarity-based and designer brand. They have exclusive clothes made by renowned designers and illustrators and their latest model of bamba, the Ande Dem, has been a bestseller. 

Search the internet and find many more: the hospital clown association Pallapupas, the José Carreras Foundation against leukaemia, Amics de la Gent Gran, AFANOC against childhood cancer… The list is endless, but we encourage you to explore it all!

11Onze is becoming a phenomenon as the first Fintech community in Catalonia. Now, it releases the first version of El Canut, the super app of 11Onze, for Android and Apple. El Canut, the first universal account can be opened in Catalan territory.

We sing them without meaning to, and they are used to sell products, services or political candidates without distinction. During the Christmas holidays, jingles, and more specifically, Christmas jingles, are played all the time in shopping centres and on television. But why are they so catchy?

Experts claim that the first commercial song in history came from a cereal advertisement in 1926. It was called “Have You Tried Wheaties?”, it featured an a cappella quartet and was produced by Note Line Music Productions in the United States. But it was from the 1930s onwards that the jingle became popular and, with the spread of television, took on a new dimension.

A jingle is an advertising message that is sung. They are usually very short ditties, no longer than 60 seconds, that we can’t stop humming. Jingles accompany radio and TV commercials because they are easy to remember, usually mention the brand name or slogan, and are very repetitive. This is what is known as auditory branding. 

Effectiveness made melody

In fact, according to experts, music produces recognition levels of up to 90%, while verbal elements only reach 60%. It is estimated that jingles containing words work 14% better than those that are only melodic. In addition, those that mention the brand name are 30% more effective than those that do not. If they also arouse emotion, empathy and trust, advertisers have arrived at the right place.

Jingle professionals say it is not just a song, far from it, and requires a lot of artistry. From the outset, the jingle has to be persuasive and it has to comply with the advertising strategy that has been entrusted to it. Therefore, the musical style has to be coherent with the brand identity and the product it advertises.

The more direct it is, the more it will have an impact on our message-bombarded brains. In short, it has to be clear, short and simple. There are advertising jingles, i.e. to sell a product or a service; identifying jingles, which allow a brand to be easily identified; and political jingles, which spread an idea.

Christmas, the golden season

Christmas is the time when the spirit of jingles is in full swing: the obsession with jingles contaminates the most renowned artists. And from here on, there are no limits. Songs and carols have been covered for more than 40 years, and they have always been successful. From Frank Sinatra’s “Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” or Elvis Presley’s “Blue Christmas” to Ella Fitzgerald’s “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve” or Otis Redding’s “White Christmas”. Not counting Michael Bublé’s Christmas albums, the most talked about is Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You”. Precisely this year, the song has reached 1,000 million reproductions, a madness never seen before for a jingle and which has earned it a diamond certificate.

In Spain, Christmas jingles are well represented by carols of all kinds: the mythical ones by Raphael, who in 2021, after 56 uninterrupted years, will not star in the famous TVE Christmas gala, but also the more modern ones, such as “Aquí és Nadal i estic content!” by La Pegatina, “Simplement” by Blaumut or “Si ens veiessis” by Joan Dausà and Sara Pi. 

And why do we remember jingles so well, whether they are Christmas jingles or not? According to psychologists, there are at least three reasons why listening to music and remembering it is like riding a bicycle: because of simple exposure, because we link the songs to specific memories of our life and because of the so-called motor memory, that is, because our brain processes the lyrics of the songs subconsciously, as if they were just another habit, like walking, driving or swimming. How many jingles can you remember?

11Onze is becoming a phenomenon as the first Fintech community in Catalonia. Now, it releases the first version of El Canut, the super app of 11Onze, for Android and Apple. El Canut, the first universal account can be opened in Catalan territory.

Fa més de 3.000 anys, abans de la irrupció de Grècia, la humanitat ja disposava de societats desenvolupades i interconnectades econòmicament. Aquesta mena de globalisme pretèrit va provocar una fallida en cadena quan el canvi climàtic, les migracions i les noves tecnologies van fer caure la primera peça del dòmino.

La globalització no és un invent del segle XXI, ni del XX, ni tan sols del colonialisme i l’imperialisme que tanta sang van vessar. Molt abans la humanitat ja havia teixit una xarxa comercial connectant societats més avançades del que sovint pensem. A l’Edat de Bronze, cap al segon mil·lenni abans de Crist, hi havia diverses civilitzacions ben desenvolupades al voltant del mar Mediterrani. Parlem de l’antiga Babilònia (a l’actual Iraq), la cultura Micènica (a l’actual Grècia, que controlava el comerç amb la península Itàlica), l’imperi Hitita (actual Turquia) i l’Antic Egipte. Aquestes quatre civilitzacions havien establert unes relacions comercials que, més enllà de conflictes puntuals, els permetien el progrés mutu.

Com van col·lapsar?

Aquell món globalitzat i cosmopolita va ser esborrat del mapa en la que és considerada com una de les grans catàstrofes de la humanitat. I tot va començar amb catàstrofes climàtiques: una forta disminució de les pluges (durant tres segles) va deixar molt tocats els centres de producció d’aliments claus de la civilització. El mirall amb l’actualitat és espaordidor si pensem en l’acumulació de males collites i la conseqüent pujada de preus dels aliments bàsics que ja fa anys que escuren les butxaques dels ciutadans del nostre país.

La falta de pluges va provocar la fam i la fam va convertir-se en una migració desesperada i violenta. Ara aquells miserables són coneguts com els Pobles de la Mar, una munió de pobles units per la gana que es movien pel món buscant alguna cosa per menjar i que van arrasar primer Micenes, després l’imperi Hitita i que van trobar el seu mur de contenció amb Egipte. El faraó Ramsès III els va poder aturar a la desembocadura del Nil, però la grandíssima despesa bèl·lica va deixar la seva societat també tocada de mort. Així la pobresa es va estendre per Egipte i Babilònia, sobretot perquè havien perdut els seus dos principals clients i no tenien a qui vendre ni a qui comprar. Aquells imperis moderns i interconnectats van fer fallida i van donar lloc a petites ciutats-estat autàrquiques, tancades en si mateixes, mirant només de sobreviure. És el que es coneix com l’Època Fosca, que es va allargar fins a l’aparició de les polis gregues.

Repetirem la història?

Les societats i les economies modernes estan més connectades que mai, d’una manera que no és comparable a l’Edat de Bronze. Si al Japó hi ha un sotrac econòmic, la fiblada arriba tot el món en un devastador efecte papallona. Així mateix, però, hi ha més mecanismes i recursos dels que hi ha hagut en cap altre moment de la història per tal d’evitar que la catàstrofe sigui tràgica.

La primera clau, com ens ensenya la història, és la producció d’aliments. Garantir un nivell mínim de benestar al gruix de la població mundial és essencial per a la supervivència mútua. Ara bé, hi ha elements difícils de controlar. La natura, el canvi climàtic, les pors i desconfiances que generen conflictes de tota mena… el món és un polvorí sempre a punt per explotar. La qüestió és si la humanitat serà hàbil per mullar la metxa.

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L’estira-i-arronsa geopolític dels últims anys entre Orient i Occident ha posat de manifest un canvi de paradigma que és cada dia més evident. Hem tornat a un món multipolar on l’hegemonia dels Estats Units va perdent força any rere any. Analitzem les causes i conseqüències d’aquest reequilibri i repartiment del poder global.

El món està més interconnectat que mai, però el poder està més repartit. La distribució del poder en la geopolítica mundial ha variat històricament entre els Estats. Del sistema bipolar establert durant el període de la Guerra Freda, en què dues grans potències compartien el poder, es va passar a un món unipolar després del col·lapse de l’URSS i el bloc comunista. Aquest canvi de l’ordre mundial va establir una hegemonia nord-americana substantivament basada en dues columnes: el poder militar i l’econòmic.

Tanmateix, l’abast i la preeminència de la influència geopolítica estatunidenca era única i anava molt més enllà de la definició d’una superpotència tradicional. D. Hubert Vedrine, ministre d’Afers Exteriors francès, va encunyar un nou terme, hiperpotència, per descriure un domini de poder que no només dictava l’àmbit econòmic, tecnològic o militar global, sinó que també incloïa l’imperialisme cultural que detallaven sarcàsticament els membres del grup de música alemany Rammstein en la coneguda cançó Amerika.

Dit això, la comunitat internacional no va trigar a plantar les llavors per desafiar aquest nou statu quo. Economies emergents, com el bloc format pels BRICS, van començar a situar-se de manera organitzada en l’escena internacional, donant sentit al concepte de món multipolar que definia les bases d’un nou ordre polític i econòmic.

L’ascens d’Àsia i el declivi d’Occident

El 1988, el líder xinès Deng Xiaoping va dir al llavors primer ministre indi Rajiv Gandhi

que l’arribada del ‘segle asiàtic’ estava lluny de ser un fet fins que la Xina, l’Índia i els països veïns es desenvolupessin. Tres dècades després, pocs dubten que estem vivint una nova època daurada del continent asiàtic. Àsia és la regió de major creixement del món i el contribuent més gran al PIB global, amb la Xina com la segona economia mundial.

Els cicles econòmics i els mercats financers se centren cada vegada menys en els Estats Units. L’ús i abús de les sancions econòmiques en vers qualsevol corporació o país, fins i tot països aliats, que no se sotmet als interessos del gegant americà, no fa més que consolidar els esforços per part de la Xina, Rússia i altres països no alineats al bloc geopolític occidental a crear sistemes econòmics alternatius.

Beijing, amb el seu enfocament en aconseguir la independència tecnològica i vinculació d’altres països a la Iniciativa del Cinturó i Ruta de la Seda (del seu nom en anglès Belt and Road Initiative), inverteix el seu capital, ajudant a aixecar les economies regionals de parts del món oblidades per Occident, o a les que els antics poders colonials exigeixen molt més, sovint amb l’ús de la força, per rebre molt poc a canvi. Tot un conjunt de múltiples aliances que divideixen i distribueixen encara més els centres de poder i influència.

Encara que ens trobem davant d’un reequilibri necessari i inevitable de l’ordre mundial, en última instància, que els Estats puguin fer un bon ús de la ressurgència d’aquesta nova tendència cap a la multipolaritat dependrà de la seva ubicació geoestratègica, demografia, recursos energètics i, sobretot, del seu poder econòmic, que demarcarà els límits de la seva autonomia relativa a les superpotències establertes.

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Des de fa temps, la història ens retorna a un vell debat encara no resolt: què és ben bé Espanya? Una pregunta difícil que han hagut d’afrontar un grapat de generacions. Pel camí hi ha hagut tota meva de debats, promeses, triomfs i derrotes. I, malgrat tot, encara estem lluny de trobar una resposta. 

Després de la llarga nit franquista, a Espanya se li van plantejar nous reptes a partir de 1975. L’Estat havia de trobar l’equilibri entre la reforma que proposava el govern franquista i la ruptura que demanava part de l’oposició. La solució pactada va ser la de transitar plegats cap a un nou règim fonamentat en una nova Carta Magna. La Constitució espanyola de 1978 es va dividir en deu títols i 169 articles. Al text, el terme “nació” apareix tan sols en dues ocasions, mentre que el terme “Estat” conté 90 entrades.

La primera i més important menció a la “nació” és la que obre el Preàmbul. “La nació espanyola, desitjant establir la justícia, la llibertat i la seguretat i promoure el bé de tots els que la integren, fent ús de la seva sobirania…”, comença el text fundacional, tal com si la mateixa nació redactés el que s’hi llegirà. Més endavant, aquesta “nació” autoproclamada expressa la voluntat de “constituir-se en un Estat social i democràtic de dret”, el qual desplegarà tots els seus òrgans i funcions. 

La “nació”, objecte de litigi

Segons sembla, l’al·lusió a “els que la integren” es refereix als individus. En efecte, l’article 2 fonamenta la Constitució en “la indissoluble unitat de la nació espanyola, pàtria comuna i indivisible de tots els espanyols”, la qual “reconeix i garanteix el dret a l’autonomia de les nacionalitats i les regions que la integren i la solidaritat entre totes elles”. Justament aquest article és objecte de continu litigi. 

Aquest famós article 2, en realitat, sembla que ens està dient que no són els individus els qui decideixen o desitgen una cosa, sinó que és la nació. Perquè la nació és qui ostenta la sobirania, no el poble. I qui anuncia aquesta proclamació de la sobirania tampoc és el poble, sinó que està personificada en la figura del Rei d’Espanya. Per tant, tot allò que integra la nació resulta confús.

El regne de les “nacionalitats”

Certament, l’al·lusió a les nacionalitats i a les regions apunta a la vella idea de la divisió territorial del regne. Aquesta paraula —“regne”— no s’esmenta enlloc a la Constitució. Cosa estranya, atès que Espanya es configura, en la seva forma, com a regne. Regne d’Espanya, en singular. Però aleshores, què són les nacionalitats? Què amaga el terme per referir-se a aquestes entitats orgàniques etnoculturals?

Sembla evident que es tracta d’un expedient púdic per al·ludir, sense anomenar-los, als antics regnes d’Hispània, a part de Castella, formats per: Catalunya, València, Mallorca, Aragó, Navarra, Galícia, el País Basc, Andalusia (i Portugal). Per tant, quin és el sentit i quina és la funció de les nacionalitats i de les regions? Impossible saber-ho, ja que aquests conceptes no tornen a aparèixer en tot el redactat de la Constitució.

Tot gira entorn de la “reconquesta”

Contra el discurs repetit com un mantra dins del sistema escolar franquista, l’aprenentatge d’Espanya es va articular en funció del concepte de “reconquesta”. Es tracta d’un terme historiogràfic —emprat encara en els currículums de secundària de Castella— que descriu el procés de recuperació del món feudal per sobre del món musulmà i jueu, perquè s’entén que els musulmans no eren els legítims propietaris de la geografia hispànica…

Aquest procés va arrencar poc després de l’arribada dels àrabs a la península Ibèrica al segle VIII i va finalitzar amb els Reis Catòlics al segle XV, els quals acabarien unificant “Espanya” com un Estat integral. Aquesta Reconquesta acabaria forjant “l’esperit espanyol”. O sigui, arguments històrics per justificar el nacionalcatolicisme imposat després de la Guerra Civil.

Tanmateix, no sembla que hagi existit mai ‘de facto’ una “nació espanyola”, és a dir, integradora de nacionalitats i regions, com ens vol fer creure la Constitució actual. Ni tan sols és segur que s’hagi consolidat mai com a Estat-nació, en el sentit modern. Ho veiem a continuació!

De la confederació a l’absolutisme

L’Estat dinàstic, iniciat pels Reis Catòlics, com hem dit, va acabar esdevenint un Estat absolutista. Abans de ser-ho, havia hagut de restringir el poder de la noblesa, forçar l’adscripció a la religió catòlica i cohesionar tot el poder en una devoció lleial al Rei. En contra del que pensen alguns, la llengua va restar al marge d’aquest esquema de poder. Per tant, no va ser mai un element unificador fins a principis del XVIII, encara que el franquisme intentés falsejar la història una vegada més.

El poder es va anar organitzant al voltant de cinc Consells d’Estat: Castella, Aragó, Itàlia, els Països Baixos, Portugal (1580-1640) i les Índies Occidentals. Per tant, els diferents territoris que configuraven la geografia de la Corona d’Hispaniae —plural d’Hispània— mantenien l’administració, la moneda i les lleis pròpies. En aquest sentit, es tractaria d’una mena confederació de nacionalitats, les quals conservaven les seves peculiaritats, furs i tradicions.

El predomini de Castella (que aglutinava Galícia, Astúries i Lleó) sobre els altres regnes existents de la península Ibèrica cada vegada va ser més evident, per extensió i població i, sobretot, després d’incorporar les Índies Occidentals al regne castellà, que ho va fer a títol de “descobriment”, amb tot el que va significar. D’aquesta manera, la progressiva translació de l’economia del mediterrani cap a l’atlàntic va comportar un canvi de paradigma en les relacions entre els diferents territoris que configuraven la Corona Hispànica.

Aquesta pluralitat, no sense sobresalts, va anar derivant cap a una major centralització del poder. Però el salt definitiu va ser després de la guerra de Successió i la subsegüent entronització de la dinastia borbònica al tron castellà. Entre 1707 i 1716, el nou rei Felip V va anar promulgant els coneguts Decrets de Nova Planta pels diferents territoris de la corona d’Aragó com a càstig per la seva rebel·lió i com a dret de conquesta. En canvi, aquesta pèrdua d’autonomia no va afectar mai ni Navarra ni les Províncies Basques, atès que aquests territoris havien estat fidels a la causa borbònica.

Va ser llavors quan Castella es va transformar en l’Espanya borbònica: una monarquia absoluta i fortament centralitzada. Prova d’aquest procés, Felip V escrivia el 1717: “He jutjat per convenient […] reduir tots els meus Regnes d’Espanya a la uniformitat d’unes mateixes lleis, usos, costums i tribunals, governant-se tots igualment per les lleis de Castella”. Així, com a resultat d’una repressió i per dret de conquesta, una Espanya castellanitzada per força es comença a configurar com un modern Estat (d’importació francesa) nacional (d’exportació castellana). Naturalment, la il·lusió va durar ben poc.

La il·lusió fallida de la “república federativa”

L’il·lustrat i escriptor José Marchena (1769-1821), exiliat a Baiona per escapar de la Inquisició, va escriure el 1792 un revelador informe per Jacques Pierre Brissot, un girondí i ministre d’assumptes exteriors de la República Francesa, sobre les dificultats d’implantar a Espanya una constitució semblant a la francesa del 1791. Les seves paraules són força reveladores: “França ha adoptat ara una constitució que fa d’aquesta vasta nació una república unida i indivisible. Però a Espanya, les diverses províncies de les quals tenen costums i usos molt diferents i a la qual s’hi ha d’unir Portugal, només hauria de poder-se formar una república federativa”.

En un sentit similar, el 1808, a Cadis, el cèlebre polític gironí, Antoni de Campmany va escriure, tot just començada la Guerra del Francès, en la famosa publicació ‘El Sentinella’: “… A França, doncs, no hi ha províncies ni nacions; no hi ha Provença ni provençals; ni Normandia ni normands. Tots s’esborraren del mapa dels seus territoris i fins i tot els seus noms […]. Tots es diuen francesos”. I més endavant detalla: “Llavors, què seria ja dels espanyols si no hi hagués hagut Aragonesos, Valencians, Murcians, Andalusos, Asturians, Gallecs, Extremenys, Catalans, Castellans? Cadascun d’aquests noms inflama l’orgull d’aquestes petites nacions, les quals configuren la gran nació”.

Dècada rere dècada, de les nou constitucions espanyoles redactades durant l’edat contemporània (1812-1978), totes tenen en comú —amb petits matisos—, una mateixa afirmació: són una constitució de la monarquia i de confessió catòlica, la religió del Rei i de la nació. Per tant, la unitat de la nació és la unitat de la monarquia.

Existeix, doncs, una nació de nacions?

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Only one in three adult European citizens has a minimum level of financial literacy, according to a new report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). This means that most people need to gain the necessary knowledge to manage their money effectively.

Financial literacy is a necessary skill that is essential for everyday citizens. It is difficult to make the right decisions when managing a household, planning savings, applying for credit or taking out a mortgage if we do not have a minimum level of financial literacy.

In this context, and amid the debate on the poor academic results of Catalan students in the fourth year of ESO in the PISA tests, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) presented a devastating report on financial education in Europe. According to this study, only 34% of European adults have a minimum level of financial literacy. Therefore, a large proportion of citizens do not have the necessary skills to manage their finances effectively.

Only Irish and German citizens achieve the minimum financial literacy threshold of 70 out of 100. This is a worrying result given the pressures on household budgets in the current economic climate, which increases the risk of indebtedness and other economic downturns.

Financial literacy at an all-time low

While 84% of adults in the 39 countries participating in the survey understand the definition of inflation, only 63% know how to apply the concept of the time value of money to their savings. Specifically, how inflation impacts the time value of money by reducing the purchasing power of money over time.

Furthermore, although the results show that around 77% of adults understand the relationship between risk and reward, only 42% of respondents across all countries can correctly answer a question about compound interest (interest that is added to the initial principal and on which new interest is generated). Even among adults with savings products in these countries, only 46% understand the concept of compound interest.

The OECD also warns that the spread of digital financial services, which accelerated during the pandemic, makes it more necessary than ever to equip people with the right knowledge and skills to use these products and services safely. Moreover, the introduction of digital currencies and other crypto-assets into the economic ecosystem, which is leading to an increased incidence and complexity of financial fraud and scams, also highlights the need to strengthen the financial literacy of adults to prevent cybercrime.

11Onze’s financial education plan

Empowering citizens through financial education has been at the heart of 11Onze since its inception. Expanding our community’s knowledge of economics and finance, making all the necessary tools available to them, is one of the founding pillars of the first community fintech in Catalonia.

Since the launch of 11Onze Escola, a project that offers training sessions on the world of fintech so that schools, companies and professional associations throughout the country can teach their students the basics of economics and financial matters, we have a unique platform that complements the school curriculum by educating young people in monetary matters and provides them with tools for the creation of wealth.

With the same purpose of training our community, we promote the lessons in the Learning section, which offers content such as the series El Diner, the Formacions 11Onze made by the employees themselves or our short Courses. In addition, in the Descobreix section of 11Onze TV you will also find pieces by our agents on topics of interest for our day-to-day work. Because from the very beginning it was clear to us that without a good financial education, we will hardly be a free society that can decide its future.

11Onze is the community fintech of Catalonia. Open an account by downloading the super app El Canut for Android or iOS and join the revolution!

Is there something magical about Halloween? Do we celebrate La Castanyada like those who celebrate Halloween in Anglo-Saxon countries? Do we worship death or life? Celebrating autumn with ‘panellets’, chestnuts and sweet potatoes may have more to do with our agricultural past than we think.

The genetic and cultural process that humans underwent five million years ago enabled us to transform objects into utensils, a fact that allowed us to adapt more effectively to different climates. Mobility was key to our survival. But about 10,000 years ago, this nomadism was altered by an even more revolutionary discovery: agriculture. 

The ability to produce one’s own food meant that we settled in areas suitable for cultivation and, at the same time, allowed us to keep wild herds in stables to ensure protein for the whole year. These primitive sedentary societies were conditioned forever by an agricultural and livestock calendar. It was then that the first evidence of the worship of gods, goddesses and ancestors appeared. 

And what does all this have to do with Halloween? Well, anthropology has studied in depth how there is a pattern, a belief, that is common in the origin of the festivity in an infinite number of cultures all over the world. Their starting point is always the same: the celebration of the birth of a period of darkness that extends into a period of light. This is how we find festivities such as the Roman Pomona, the Celtic Samhain or the Basque Udazkena. 

Likewise, Samhain or Udazkena marked the beginning of the agricultural calendar when fields and lands became barren — similar to when talking about the deceased — until the arrival of spring, when life flourished again. Thus, the start of a new cycle of life. These pagan beliefs practised by the inhabitants of the ‘pagus’ — the peasants — remained deeply rooted for millennia until the irruption of Christianity in the 1st century.

The Catholic world appropriates pagan traditions

The beginning of the end of paganism came with Pope Boniface IV, who in 610 consecrated the Roman Pantheon of Agrippa, which until then had been dedicated to the pagan cult of Jupiter. Taking advantage of this fact, he instituted a feast commemorating all the unknown and anonymous saints of Christianity, which was celebrated on 13 May. 

But it was not until the middle of the 9th century, following the Carolingian Renaissance, that 

what we know as All Saints’ Day was definitively established throughout the medieval West. The papal encyclical of Gregory IV in 840 promulgated the definitive Christianisation of all the territories of the empire and forced the substitution of pagan festivals, such as Samhain or those of Pomona, for All Saints’ Day, changing the date of celebration to 1 November. For centuries, the Catholic world continued its policy of supplanting pagan ancestral traditions with church events, while in the Anglo-Saxon world, where Protestantism was pre-eminent, this pressure was relaxed. 

Today, we observe that while All Saints’ Day is more of a dark, sad, secluded day, Halloween — All Hallow’s Eve — is festive, sweet, funny and, yes, greatly amplified by the American propaganda machine. As for the rest of the world, such as the Philippines or Mexico, and especially in the wake of Pixar’s film ‘Coco’, the holiday is even more festive: not only the graves of the deceased are visited, but a family picnics are held around them, where masks and coloured ribbons are used, while special dishes are cooked.

In Catalonia, joy and severity

As for our culture, according to the folklorist and ethnologist Joan Amades in his well-known ‘Costumari català’ (Salvat Editors, 1982), All Saints’ Day has two very different faces: the joyful and festive one in the morning and the rigorous and severe one in the afternoon. This is because, as Amades recalls, there is a belief that, just after midday on 1 November, people who died not long ago return to live with their families for a few hours. 

There was even a tradition, in Barcelona, of placing the dishes on the table for the deceased, as if they were another guest. Likewise, it was very common, on 1 November, to call the deceased into coming home, but also to help them find their way to eternity. For this reason, it was customary to hang lanterns on the façades of the houses, and on the tombs. 

In ‘Costumari català’, Amades also recalls a custom typical of rural villages, where it was popular to go to cemeteries to offer of bread to the deceased. This tradition evolved into the popular ‘panellets’, which bakers turned into a business. 

Continuing with gastronomy, chestnuts, sweet potatoes and ‘panellets’ have been and still are the traditional Christmas specials of this time of year. As an anecdote, it is said that in some areas of Catalonia superstition states that if you eat chestnuts, your hair will fall out and, for this reason, women did not want to eat them. This is the reason why chestnuts were replaced by pine nuts. Perhaps this is why many ‘panellets’ are wrapped in pine seeds.

In short, All Saints’ Day, today, as in the past, always responds to the same spirit: to keep the memory of our ancestors alive and to venerate the cycle of life that is so well expressed in the peasant world.

11Onze is the community fintech of Catalonia. Open an account by downloading the super app El Canut for Android or iOS and join the revolution!