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Gävle goat’s little brother torched

It has become something of a Swedish Christmas tradition for the famous Gävle goat to be burned by vandals. But while that goat has so far survived intact this year, its smaller and less famous brother in Lycksele, northern Sweden, has been destroyed.

Published: 19 December 2008 12:05 CET
Gävle goat's little brother torched

Fire officers were called to the straw goat in the town’s main square at half past midnight on Thursday night.

“It is true that the goat has burned. The fire brigade attended and hosed it down,” said Dan Andersson of Umeå police.

A number of towns in Sweden erect straw goats in their main squares over the Christmas period. The straw goat of Gävle, first erected in 1966, has been burned many times in the run-up to Christmas.

Pyromaniacs in Lycksele “appear to be taking over the Gävle tradition,” said Andersson, who expressed disappointment that the ornament had been destroyed.

“It wasn’t enormous, but it’s a shame it couldn’t be allowed to survive,” he said.

The goat’s association with the yuletide season is believed to derive from pagan Scandinavian religion. In the 18th century the Christmas goat fulfilled a role similar to that of Santa Claus. These days, straw goats are used by many as seasonal decorations.

People keen to see whether the Gävle goat makes it to Christmas can now follow its fate via webcam.

GÄVLE GOAT

Sweden’s Christmas goat beats the arsonists for 19th time

The giant straw Christmas goat in the city of Gävle, which is every year the subject of a battle by the authorities to prevent it being burnt down by arsonists, has survived for the 19th time in its 56-year history.

Published: 27 December 2022 08:06 CET
Sweden’s Christmas goat beats the arsonists for 19th time

The 13-metre high goat, called Gävlebocken, had been temporarily moved this year from Slottstorget, or “castle square”, to the Rådhusesplanaden, or “town hall esplanade”, a change goat watchers believed could give the authorities an advantage.

The goat’s own Twitter account announced its victory in a tweet issued on Christmas Day.

“I made it. Merry Christmas,” it posted in English.

In its 56 years, the goat has been burned down 30 times and damaged in other ways seven times.

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After 2016, when it was burned down within hours of being inaugurated, it remained intact until 2020, coming close to beating its four-year survival record. 

Last year, though, the goat was burnt down by a 40-year-old from Kalmar, who was later jailed for six months for aggravated vandalism and forced to pay a fine of 109,000 kronor, a deterrent that may also have increased the odds of the goat’s survival this year. 

According to the Swedish betting site Bettingsidor, it has been illegal to give odds on the goat’s survival since a new Swedish gambling license came into force in 2019. 

When The Local’s journalist, Becky Waterton, asked on Twitter whether readers thought the goat would survive this year, 61.3 percent thought it would perish before Christmas Eve.

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