I’m all styled up and ready for a goatwalk this sunday 🎉 And as a gentlegoat - the older, the more stylish! My inauguration kicks off on sunday at 4 PM, swedish time! Remember that bags are not allowed in front of the stage. You can watch it live at the link in bio! pic.twitter.com/JwoLOAti5G
— Gävlebocken (@Gavlebocken) November 29, 2024
Every year, the Gävle Goat is inaugurated on the first Sunday of Advent and marks the beginning of the Christmas season for the residents of the Swedish town. The gigantic goat, made of straw, is a representation of the Swedish Yule goat. The first goat was erected in 1966 for the purpose of drawing tourists to Gävle, but it's not so much the goat itself that Gävlebocken is known for, but the constant threat of arson. The 1966 goat was burned down, and that vandalism has become sort of a tradition, no matter how securely it is guarded. Of the 58 goats that have graced Gävle over the years, 42 have been burned down. Last year's goat was not burned, but suffered destruction from jackdaws who pecked at the straw to reach the remnants of wheat until you could see through it.
You can follow the status of the Gävle goat on the live webcam. You can read more about the history of the goat, accounts of its destruction in years past, editorials about the pros and cons of burning it down, and even find videos of the burning goat, in a link-heavy post at Metafilter. That's where I nicked the title of this post.
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