I made it. Merry Christmas. pic.twitter.com/NI85iDhDNw
— Gävlebocken (@Gavlebocken) December 25, 2022
The Gävle Goat (previously at Neatorama) is an annual tradition in the town of Gävle, Sweden. It is a giant sculpture of a goat made of straw, erected early in December every year since 1966. In 38 of those years, someone has burned it down which is a 67% arson rate! In some years, it burned almost immediately after the goat was erected. But this year's goat has beaten the odds and survived through Christmas. Protecting the goat is not easy- there are security guards and a live webcam, plus serious consequences for arsonists who are caught. Last year's arsonist was sentenced to six months in jail, although most perpetrators were never caught. While getting through Christmas without being roasted is a good sign, the Gävle Goat is not considered a historic "survivor" until December 31st. The Herald Scotland has the goat's story and a timeline of the goat's fate for each year so far. This story may be updated within a few days.
Update 1/1/23: The goat has survived!