The Swedish city of Gavle is moving its giant straw Christmas goat to a new location, supposedly to allow construction on its old site, but possibly also to improve its chances of surviving the season without arson.
The goat effigy, called the Gavlebocken, is a 56-year-old tradition that’s matched with another tradition that has seen the goat burned by arsonists a few more times than it has survived. The longest unburned stretch covered the years 2017-2020, but in 2021 it was burned again.
For the next three years, it will be in a new location in front of the town’s City Hall while a new cultural center is built at its old location. It will be protected by a double row of fences to keep it safe.
While some have come to consider the practice of torching the goat, sometimes within hours of being put in place, aa part of the tradition, in fact jail sentences and fines have been handed out when perpetrators have been caught.
