NationStates Jolt Archive

...Leave that goat alone.

A giant straw goat erected each Christmas in a northern Swedish town has been burned down - yet again.

The 13m-high (43ft) animal in Gavle has been torched 23 times since it was first erected in 1966. It has also been hit by a car and had its legs cut off.

The vandals are rarely caught, though in 2001 a 51-year-old American tourist spent 18 days in jail after being convicted of setting it alight
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7801156.stm

Fair play to the yank. Normally I'd expect him to out to torch the Goat and end up burning 12 Americans, 6 Brits, 4 Canadians and two large extended families at an Afghan wedding.

WTF is wrong with people? It's the burning MAN, not the burning GOAT.

They should soak the next one in kerosene so when someone gets near it with a torch.... FOOSH!!!

:D

They should soak the next one in kerosene so when someone gets near it with a torch.... FOOSH!!!

:D
Oooh wicked, with a touch of poetic justice.

They should soak the next one in kerosene so when someone gets near it with a torch.... FOOSH!!!

:D

It'd make catching the arsonist easier, just look for the guy with no eyebrows, or hair, or face.

and all the goat wanted was a brain :(

No, I think that's what the vandals need -- in spades.

When I grow up I want to be a Goat Committee Spokesperson

It has become sort of a tradition to light the Christmas goat on fire.
Or Yule goat to be more accurate, since that is what we had before Santa.

They should soak the next one in kerosene so when someone gets near it with a torch.... FOOSH!!!

:D

Alternatively, stuff the goat with marijuana one year, then pig shit the year after. Reel them in then smack em on the head with the oar.

"In 2005, it was torched by two arsonists dressed as Father Christmas and the Gingerbread Man."

Lol.

Why would people try to burn it down anyway? And why not just make the goat out of brick the next year?

1971: Tired of arson, the project is abandoned. Schoolchildren build a miniature. It is smashed to pieces.

Wow. Just wow.

Alternatively, stuff the goat with marijuana one year, then pig shit the year after. Reel them in then smack em on the head with the oar.

Yay! :D

"In 2005, it was torched by two arsonists dressed as Father Christmas and the Gingerbread Man."

Lol.

Why would people try to burn it down anyway? And why not just make the goat out of brick the next year?

Christmas 09: Brick goat levelled by bulldozer driven by man dressed as Santa Claus.

No, I think that's what the vandals need -- in spades.

little did they know they had it all along :confused:

Or Yule goat to be more accurate, since that is what we had before Santa.

imagine the delight on children faces when they open their stockings Christmas morning to find rusty cans and nettles :p

SNIP

did they ever catch the gingerbread man?

Christmas 09: Brick goat levelled by bulldozer driven by man dressed as Santa Claus.

Christmas 10: as mankind tries to rebuild from nuclear holocaust the last goat melts from the intense radiation

Christmas '11: Gigantic mechanical goat rampages throughout the Swedish countryside, killing many.

Christmas '11: Gigantic mechanical goat rampages throughout the Swedish countryside, killing many.

January '12: ALL GLORY TO THE GOAT OVERLORD!

January '12: ALL GLORY TO THE GOAT OVERLORD!

Proof of evolution.

Straw goats responding and adapting to their environment.

January '12: ALL GLORY TO THE GOAT OVERLORD!

All Hail The Black Goat of the Woods With a Thousand Young!! Iä!! Iä!!

imagine the delight on children faces when they open their stockings Christmas morning to find rusty cans and nettles :p


We don´t really do stockings, but I get the idea.
Though don´t you think the goat will have eaten that too? ^^



And it has to be said, It´s some kind of law or something, don´t blame me. ,)

I for one welcome our new goat overlords.

Goats, flaming - it must be trolls.

Next time, they should weave a giant straw goatse.

Holy sh**, now I'm afraid of myself! :eek2:

Also, I wonder what'll Fass say.

Wasn't the burning of straw figures done for Beltaine? And wasn't that done to burn the bad people too?

This made the news outside this country?

So sad.

This made the news outside this country?

So sad.

It was you, wasn't it?

It was you, wasn't it?

Even the mere association with Gävle is something I regard as an insult, so thanks a bunch for that.

Even the mere association with Gävle is something I regard as an insult, so thanks a bunch for that.

That's not a 'no'. :p

That's not a 'no'. :p

"No" is an un-Swedish response.

"No" is an un-Swedish response.

I'll have to come visit. :D

I'll have to come visit. :D

You'd be welcome. Just remember that if you're not wearing trousers, you'd better have something to show off, lest things become a bit awkward. We've become accustomed to a certain standard here, you see.

WTF is wrong with people? It's the burning MAN, not the burning GOAT.
It's a christmas tradition!

The officials put up the goat and try to make it non-flammable.

While the people try to light it up and burn it down.

You'd be welcome. Just remember that if you're not wearing trousers, you'd better have something to show off, lest things become a bit awkward. We've become accustomed to a certain standard here, you see.

The twig is adequate, the giggleberries are quite impressive.

The twig is adequate, the giggleberries are quite impressive.

But it's the custard we value most.

The twig is adequate, the giggleberries are quite impressive.

Arrive with trousers. That far north, I'd say ye'd you'd want to be careful your twig didn't snap and your giggleberries didn't drop off....And I don't think they grow back.

January '12: ALL GLORY TO THE GOAT OVERLORD!
So this will be what kills us all in 2012, eh?

Maybe it's the scapegoat.

The scapegoat represents all the sins of the community. It is ritually destroyed - along with all our sins.

it is fun to burn the goat every year.


*hides flight ticket stubs from Sweden*

as for the miniature being smashed if you had flown to the middle of no where to burn a goat you would be pretty ticked off and smash something*


Besides its every Americans right to burn this stuff.

Arrive with trousers. That far north, I'd say ye'd you'd want to be careful your twig didn't snap and your giggleberries didn't drop off....And I don't think they grow back.
Maybe not for most people, but this IS Lunatic Goofballs we're talking about here...the guy has taken gigantic amounts of punishment...

So this will be what kills us all in 2012, eh?

The Mayan priests saw a giant goat ruling the world and rightly said the world'll be fucked in 2012.

We don´t really do stockings, but I get the idea.
Though don´t you think the goat will have eaten that too? ^^



And it has to be said, It´s some kind of law or something, don´t blame me. ,)

I for one welcome our new goat overlords.

Nice, bringing the /. meme's to NSG. I would make a reference to one, if I were skilled enough, especially right now. Unfortunately, I am not.

5) Profit

So they are trying to BBQ the goat. I for one have tried Goat and have to say its not half bad. Maybe they are hungry?



In 2005, it was torched by two arsonists dressed as Father Christmas and the Gingerbread Man.

Priceless....

don´t you think the goat will have eaten that too? ^^

does Santa eat toys in your world?

Even the mere association with Gävle is something I regard as an insult, so thanks a bunch for that.

oh come now we all know your a flaming homosexual

But it's the custard we value most.

I think you might want to see a doctor about that...

Maybe they are hungry?

I don't think you quite understand what farmers get up to in the countryside

does Santa eat toys in your world?

Well, no. But one does wonder how he is able to maintain his figure.
I was referring more to the myth of goats eating everything, and most known examples are often rusty cans and brambles.

In older days we did leave out porridge for "hustomtar och skogstomtar" meaning smallish elf-like creatures who lived in our houses and forests.

All Hail The Black Goat of the Woods With a Thousand Young!! Iä!! Iä!!

So the arsonists actually try to stop the return of Shub Niggurath? Time to mobilize the Obscure Order Of The Necronomicon!!!

edit: guess what I keep getting stuck in my head (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=BD3ovfZXO5Q) :mad:

I was referring more to the myth of goats eating everything, and most known examples are often rusty cans and brambles.

ah but have you ever seen a goat poop a rusty can out? clearly they must be hiding them for something :wink:

In older days we did leave out porridge for "hustomtar och skogstomtar" meaning smallish elf-like creatures who lived in our houses and forests.

I think you mean mice *notes how Swedes can't do Christmas*

ah but have you ever seen a goat poop a rusty can out? clearly they must be hiding them for something :wink:

Touché...But...How DO they get them out afterward´s then? ,)

I think you mean mice *notes how Swedes can't do Christmas*

In all likelyhood, yes. That or foxes,cats, random wildlife.
But in "Ye olde time" they were apparently dressed in all manner of clothing.
Clearly they quit that after noticing the increased attention they got from humans.
Do not be fooled however, they must be awaiting our inevitable demise, so they can rise to power yet again?

Why not just make burning it the Institution...Have a festival and sell shit, and at the end, burn it...

Problem solved, and with a Hefty profit to Boot....

Wow. Just wow.

That's the trouble with Swedes, give them free healthcare think they own world.

But really it is one thing to have a bit of a laugh and a splash of fun but it is going a bit overboard.

Foreigners are responsible for most of the crime in Sweden.