code4welfare Advent Calendar by SUSANA BUJALANCE GARCIA

1 - Castells (Castles)

sbujala2 — 2023-12-01 14:50:27 UTC

Castells are human towers that have been built for more than two hundred years in Camp of Tarragona and Penedès. From the 80s of the 20th century, castles gradually spread throughout Catalonia and the Balearic Islands.

2 - Calçotada

sbujala2 — 2023-12-02 20:07:52 UTC

A calçotada is a Catalan gastronomic custom, in which calçots are grilled and meat is also eaten. The calçots are sweet white onions, that are cultivated by covering them with soil as they grow. They are cooked directly on the fire, and, once they are roasted, they usually place them on newspapers to keep them warm. Then people peel the calçots with their fingers and dip them in romesco sauce.

3 - Sardana

sbujala2 — 2023-12-03 20:05:39 UTC

Sardana is a traditional catalan dance that represents collaboration and unity between people. Danced at festive events and ceremonies, this dance symbolizes the cultural richness and identity of catalonia.

4 - Vardheia Ungdomsskule

2023-12-04 09:06:13 UTC

Vardheia Ungdomsskule is a nice, new school with lots of modern equipment and things to do. We have a computer/gaming room where we have our programming lessons!

5 - Farsa

2023-12-05 08:00:15 UTC

Farsa is a cultural food here in Bryne and its similar to a burger. Farsa is chopped meat diluted with eggs, milk, flour and spices. There is two variants, vegetable-farsa and bacon-farsa. It’s normal to have ketchup and a type of spice called piffi. The chopped meat is inside two pieces of bread. Everyone likes farsa in Bryne. A farsa is very big so normally you cut it in half and eat just that, “farsa in two pieces of bread,” but if you’re really, really hungry you can ask for a “farsa in one piece of bread,” its an entire farsa! The picture is from Håland Kjøtt, a famous butcher and farsa-shop in the nearby area of Klepp.

6 - Bryne Christmas tree lighting

2023-12-06 16:30:36 UTC

Julegrana tenning on the first Sunday of advent.

Every year on the first Sunday of advent we gather around a big Christmas tree in the middle of the city to light it up. And when everyone is around the Christmas tree we count down from ten and when we hit one we light it up. It is a wonderful tradition that we have done in Bryne for a long time and we think that everyone should experience it

7 - Caga Tió

sbujala2 — 2023-12-07 09:12:32 UTC

In Catalonia we have some eschatological traditions. One of them is the "Tió de Nadal" (Christmas Tió).

On Christmas eve kids hit the Tió (a friendly log) with a stick and magically he "poops" presents!

The song we sing while we hit the log is this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nrWLAFDBPw

Crazy, right?

8 - Advent candles

2023-12-08 07:58:07 UTC

On the first of December we put out four candles. And on the first Sunday in December we ignite the first one, and on the second Sunday we ignite the first and the second one, and on the third Sunday we ignite the first, second and third one and on the fourth Sunday we light up all of them and celebrate the end of advent, and this year the last Sunday falls on Christmas Eve December 24 2023. In Norway we celebrate Christmas on the 24th.

9 - El Caganer (the one who poops)

sbujala2 — 2023-12-09 10:59:38 UTC

The Caganer is an impressive figure that cannot be missed in Catalan pessebre (Christmas crib), often hidden in a corner or behind a bush where it relieves itself in the open air.

10 - Erling Braut Haaland

2023-12-10 13:20:29 UTC

The most famous man from Bryne currently is football player Erling Braut Haaland. There is a giant mural of him near the train station, so that everyone that travels through Bryne can see how proud we are of him. He plays for Norway's national team and Manchester City in England, but his career started here in Bryne FK.

11 - Paella popular

sbujala2 — 2023-12-11 15:07:51 UTC

In our secondary school study teenagers from some different towns, one of them is La Pobla de Mafumet.

In La Pobla de Mafumet, every year we can participate having a meal per groups. Each group cooks their PAELLA and then we eat it. For participating, we get a hat, a shirt and a fan.

12 - Christmas Workshop

2023-12-12 13:48:05 UTC

In Norway it's an important tradition that children make christmas ornaments out of paper and glue. Every year most schools and kindergardens have a traditional Christmas workshop and decorate their classrooms.

13 - Museum of cinema

sbujala2 — 2023-12-13 14:06:09 UTC

Another one of the towns we are from is Vilallonga del Camp.

In Vilallonga del Camp we have a museum about cinema. It was built in 2014 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Cinema Center Recreative Hall.

You can find more information in:

https://www.vilallongadelcamp.cat/museu-del-cinema/

14 - The Fjøsnisse

2023-12-14 07:04:06 UTC

Old Norwegian superstitions involve many fantastic creatures and beings, like tiny elves called "nisse". In Norway we also call Santa Claus julenisse ("the christmas nisse"). Traditionally, farmers believed they had a tiny "fjøsnisse" living in their barn, who would help out in their daily work. Every christmas, they put a bowl of rice pudding out in the barn for the fjøsnisse.

15 - Sant Esteve

sbujala2 — 2023-12-15 14:43:44 UTC

On 26 of December, Saint Esteve's day, it's tradition to prepare a soup for lunch with all the family. After preparing the soup, we use the meat of it to prepare some cannelloni. It's a fantastic day to have a good time with the family.

16 - Pinnekjøtt

2023-12-17 10:59:41 UTC

In western Norway, the traditional christmas food is "pinnekjøtt" (literally "stick meat"). Dried, cured lamb ribs are cooked in water or steamed for a long time, and then served with potatoes and rutabaga.

17 - Institut El Morell

sbujala2 — 2023-12-17 14:27:26 UTC

Our secondary school is placed in a town called El Morell, so the school takes the name of the town: Institut El Morell.

More than 600 students learn here between their 12 and their 18 years old.

You can check the website here: https://agora.xtec.cat/institut-el-morell/

18 - Jærstrendene

2023-12-18 08:50:56 UTC

Bryne is located in the region known as Jæren, in southwestern Norway. Jæren is very famous for our many long sand beaches, the Jærstrendene. People come from all over Norway to enjoy surfing, even though it's cold.

19 - UMA Project

sbujala2 — 2023-12-19 10:01:27 UTC

UMA means "Un Museu a l'Aula", a museum in a classroom. It is a singular project our school has been developing for 6 years!

Our school learns from a museum how to create expositions. Every year we choose a different topic to create this exposition and the shown pieces are projects done in all the subjects.

This year the topic is "Mental Health". One of the shown pieces will be a game done during our code4welfare exchange with you.

You can follow our progress on our Instagram account: uma.inselmorell

20 - No mobile phones

sbujala2 — 2023-12-22 14:13:27 UTC

This year our school started to completely ban mobile phones so students can be concentrated in learning new things and don't focus on them.

21 - Tortilla de patatas (potato omelette)

sbujala2 — 2023-12-22 14:21:18 UTC

The potato omelette is a dish made of potatoes, egg and you can decide whether to add onion or not. The debate about with or without onion is as popular as the one about pineapple pizza.

You can find this dish everywhere in Spain and it is really good.

22 - Bryne Street Art

2023-12-23 20:31:00 UTC

Apart from the huge Haaland-painting, the town of Bryne has a lot of other street art referencing important aspects of local culture. Here is a picture of a traditional farmer dressed in green and a girl who is a symbol from the famous local band Kaizers Orchestra. There is also a painting of a nurse that got very well known during the covid-epidemic, made by local artist Pøbel.

23 - Mandel i grøten

2023-12-23 20:33:39 UTC

Grøt (porridge) is a traditional norwegian meal. During christmas times, the porridge is usually served with cinnamon, sugar and butter. Often flatbreads and ham from pork and lamb is served as a side dish. For christmas, families hide an almond within the porridge, and the person who finds the almond in their porridge wins a price, typically marzipan or another sweet confectionairy.

24 - Norwegian Christmas!

2023-12-24 09:27:03 UTC

In Norway we celebrate christmas evening (julaften) on the evening of the 24th. It’s the biggest celebration and one of Norway’s most important traditions. People spend the day with their family, many visit church, and they eat traditional foods like pinnekjøtt, ribbe (pork ribs) or fish. Then they sing christmas songs around the christmas tree and exchange gifts.

God jul! / Merry christmas!