Vandals Burn Giant Swedish Christmas Goat For 22nd Time…

Ian David

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Sun Dec-04-05 07:52 PM
Original message

Vandals Burn Giant Swedish Christmas Goat For 22nd Time…

Associated Press | Posted December 4, 2005 03:51 PM
swedegoat.jpg

STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Vandals set light to a giant straw goat Saturday night in a central Swedish town, police said — an event that has happened so frequently it has almost become a Christmas tradition.

It was the 22nd time that the goat had gone up in smoke since merchants in Gavle, 150 kilometers (90 miles) north of Stockholm, began erecting it to mark the holiday season.

More:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2005/12/04/vandals-burn-giant-swedis_n_11670.html

Also:

A gift indeed: Swedish Christmas goat survives holidays for first time since 1997
Friday, January 3, 2003
(01-03) 11:52 PST GAEVLE, Sweden (AP) --
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/a/2003/01/03/international1452EST0604.DTL&nl=fix

On the Net:
Christmas Goat: http://www.gavle.se

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SpiralHawk

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Sun Dec-04-05 07:54 PM
Response to Original message

1. Those Vandals are even worse than the Visigoths and the Huns

Edited on Sun Dec-04-05 07:54 PM by SpiralHawk

But the Republican culture of corruption is the worst.

Time to burn a straw ChimPee or three...

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Skink

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Sun Dec-04-05 08:15 PM
Response to Reply #1

2. Can't they just make snow statues.

Giant straw goats?

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Gabi Hayes

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Sun Dec-04-05 08:41 PM
Response to Original message

3. Why do they hate America?

Edited on Sun Dec-04-05 08:43 PM by Gabi Hayes

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tocqueville

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Sun Dec-04-05 08:47 PM
Response to Original message

4. AP discovers what has been going on .. 22 years

1) it's a billy ("bock" in Swedish compare English buck)
2) burning the billy is expected and part of the fun
3) the only guy that was ever caught and condemned was American

the Xmas billy is a traditional ornament in Sweden. the one in Gไvle is the biggest, but others can be seen in other towns, but smaller...

they often burn too

ever heard of scapegoats ?

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shenmue

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Sun Dec-04-05 08:48 PM
Response to Original message

5. Goat-burners!

It's getting so you can't leave your goats around outside anymore!

:grr:

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smirkymonkey

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Sun Dec-04-05 08:52 PM
Response to Original message

6. Where are the Vikings when you need them?

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KitchenWitch

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Sun Dec-04-05 10:57 PM
Response to Reply #6

8. they are at "Al and Alma's"

Oh wait, not *THOSE* Vikings...

Never mind.

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amandabeech

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Sun Dec-04-05 10:53 PM
Response to Original message

7. Burning straw goats is a throwback to the pre-Christian era.

The goats were burned as a sacrifice to the gods in order to bring back the sunlight. The Swedes back then were too poor to sacrifice their live goats, so they substituted the straw ones, hoping to fool the gods. Obviously, the deception worked and the days became longer.

Or at least, that's how it was told to this part-Swedish American.

I have a very large straw goat (a yard or so), a medium goat and two small goats, but they are too expensive to burn and replace every year, so I use them as Christmas decorations around my townhouse, along with the red/orange-painted Dala horses and some wooden candle holders painted in the same manner.

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bluedawg12

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Mon Dec-05-05 12:21 AM
Response to Original message

9. Why is it always the goat that gets it? n/t

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kitkat65

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Mon Dec-05-05 12:28 AM
Response to Original message

10. So THAT'S why my Minnesota boyfriend is always trying to get my goat!

Alrighty then!

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TahitiNut

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Mon Dec-05-05 12:33 AM
Response to Original message

11. Was it somebody's Pet Goat?

:evilgrin:

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chicagiana

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Mon Dec-05-05 09:38 PM
Response to Original message

12. And then ...

And then, the Swedes built another goat out of wood. And once again, the big, bad vandals burned it down.

Than, they built a goat out of brick, and the vandals torched and they torched, but they could not burn down the goat of the three little Swedes.

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Swamp Rat

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Mon Dec-05-05 09:49 PM
Response to Original message

13. What if they built this large wooden badger and...

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