Sweden Builds a Giant Christmas Goat Every Year. Arsonists Have Burned It Down 43 Times.

Every year since 1966, the Swedish city of Gavle erects a giant straw goat in Castle Square to celebrate Christmas. The Gavle Goat stands roughly 42 feet tall and 23 feet wide. It is meant to be a symbol of holiday cheer.

It has been burned down 43 times.

The Scoreboard

Out of approximately 60 years, arsonists have successfully destroyed the goat 43 times. The city has survived intact only 17 times. The arsonists are winning by a wide margin and show no signs of slowing down.

The Defenses

Gavle has tried everything. Round-the-clock security guards. CCTV surveillance cameras. Metal fences. Dousing the goat in flame-retardant chemicals. Coating it in water-resistant materials. At one point, they even assigned a military unit to guard it.

None of it has worked consistently.

The Greatest Hits

In 2005, two men dressed as Santa Claus and a Gingerbread Man used a bow and flaming arrows to set the goat on fire from a safe distance. They were arrested.

In 2001, an American tourist from Cleveland set the goat on fire and was arrested. He told police he was confused because his Swedish friends had told him it was a local tradition to burn the goat. He spent 18 days in jail.

In 1976, the goat was burned on New Year's Eve. In 2016, someone set it on fire within hours of it being erected. In 2009, someone hacked into the goat's webcam feed before the arson.

The War Continues

The city of Gavle rebuilds the goat every single year. Every year, someone tries to burn it down. The goat has its own webcam, its own social media accounts, and its own Wikipedia page tracking the scoreboard.

Arsonists 43, Gavle 17. The goat keeps coming back. So do the arsonists.