Arson-prone giant straw goat stands unscathed

STOCKHOLM: A 13-metre tall straw Christmas goat in the Swedish city of Gavle, which is routinely torched or vandalised, was standing unscathed as of Sunday.

During its history, the goat has been burned more than 30 times. The first time was on New Year’s Eve 1966. It has also been vandalised in past years.

Last year, the giant Gavlebocken was set on fire just a few hours after the official opening.

Organisers erected two protective fences around the goat this year to safeguard it.

“Looks like I got the best Christmas gift ever: company by SantaClaus himself,” the Gavle goat tweeted, posted with a photo showing Santa sitting in front of the fence surrounding the massive straw effigy.

The most recent date that it survived until Christmas Eve without suffering any damage was in 2014. Over the decades, there has been a series of strange attacks on the goat. In 1983 its legs were destroyed, while in 1976 it was rammed by a car.

A webcam was installed for the first time in 1996 and the goat survived the holiday season.

While the straw creature made it through 2010 unharmed, a plot to kidnap it by helicopter and take it to Stockholm was discovered.

The tradition of erecting a giant version of the traditional Swedish Christmas symbol in a central square in the city dates back to 1966.

While the Yule goat dates back to Norse mythology, it has become a standard part of the contemporary Swedish Christmas celebration.