I’ve yet to find a Christmas tradition more beautiful than the Gavle Goat.
Every year in Sweden, the city of Gavle erects a gigantic goat made of wood and/or straw. And almost every year, someone burns it down. (22 times since the first goat was built in 1966)
The history of the goat alone is a wonderful story; I particularly enjoy the years in which it was built, burned down,built again, and burned down yet again. Some awkward translation makes for even better reading when you get to the parts about molesting and impregnating the goats.
I love the fact that this cycle of vandalism and creativity has become a part of the town tradition. Everyone expects the goat to burn down. I suspect the town officials would rather it not – in 2007, they coated it with flame-retardent chemicals – but they seem to have a good sense of humour about it. How often do you read about “pyromaniac attacks” on a municipal website?
Take, for example, the Goat’s Blog. Yes, it’s a blog by a giant wooden goat, written entirely in the first person. And this year, brand new, the Goat has his own Twitter account.
And, as always, you can watch the live Goat Cam. There’s also a “Making of the Goat” video.
I could not make this stuff up if I tried. Not even Ebeneezer Scrooge could be a Christmas curmudgeon in the face of such wondrous tradition.