Giant Swedish Christmas goat torched again after five-year respite

The blaze revives a long-running tradition of locals illegally attempting to set the massive Yule decoration on fire as authorities try their best to stop them

Over the years, it has been hit with fireworks and burning arrows, run over by cars and smashed with clubs in often elaborate schemes

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This year’s Yule goat was inaugurated in Gavle, Sweden in November, about three weeks before it was burned down on Friday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 3:32am, 18 Dec 2021Updated: 4:35am, 18 Dec 2021

A giant straw Yule goat in the Swedish town of Gavle was set ablaze on Friday for the first time in five years, reviving a long-running tradition of locals illegally attempting to torch it and authorities scrambling to stop them.

Police said they had arrested a man in his 40s who witnesses said had been acting suspiciously before the blaze in the early hours of Friday.

The Gavle Yule goat, a 42-foot (12.8-metre) high statue made of wood and straw erected every year before Christmas, has become famous nationwide since one was first installed on a town square in 1966 as a marketing ploy.

It was burned down on New Year’s Eve that year.

A view of the frame of a giant straw Yule goat in Gavle, Sweden after it was set ablaze, rekindling a cat-and-mouse tradition between locals trying to burn it down and authorities trying to stop them. Photo: TT News Agency via Reuters

Small Yule goats made of straw are traditionally placed around Swedish homes during the festive season. Their origin has been traced to ancient pagan festivals.