Gävlebocken: Burn Baby Burn !

Christmas is coming and in the Swedish town of Gävle it is time for the Gävlebocken to come out again. For those who don't know, the Gävlebocken is a giant goat, made of straw, who stands proudly in the town square of Gävle during advent.

The problem is that after a few drinks it is inevitable that some people will think, "Mmmmm, giant straw goat, I bet that would burn well"

So now we not only have the tradition of putting up the Gävleboken, but also the tradition of burning it down as soon as possible. This has become such a tradition that one US tourist didn't even realise it was actually illegal and was imprisoned for arson after torching it one year.

But now every year there is all this anticipation as people wait to if the goat will get torched before Christmas. It's like a Swedish Groundhog Day.

The authorities have been playing dirty though by using flame resistant coating and sprays to make the goat inflammable. But, there is a catch here...The international media interest is not there because of a giant Christmas Goat, but rather because of the fact it keeps getting burnt down. That is always the angle that the BBC and CNN take when they make their reports.

So the city council should be wary about making Gävlebocken too indestructible. In order to keep the town on the international map, the goat has to get burned down once in a while...