#the gavle goat stands

[has-the-gavle-goat-burned-yet]

December 3, 2023

No

[nb2000]

The webcam has been cleared but the goat is looking rough.

[woodelf68]

The birds ate the whole goat head!

*Checks live stream*

*Winces*

[punkpoemprose]

Alright y'all, today is the first Sunday of Advent. Bets on how long the Gävle goat is going to make it this year? 🐐 🔥

[mildlyoccultish]

[barnabusthebarmyballetschool]

The goat has made it to the 26th!!

Barely.

[has-the-gavle-goat-burned-yet]

December 13, 2023

No

[underwhelmingalchemist]

Something incredibly poignant about the Gavle goat standing as bird pick from its straw. It stands tall, hundreds of times as large as the birds that have taken from it, and yet, it's defenseless against them. It can't move, can't make noise to scare them away. It stands still, as jackdaws feast on it, sustaining them with its body. And as each bird takes the straw and seed that make up its flesh, a little more of its structure is exposed. It has no choice in the matter. Come storm or shine, the jackdaws will feast.

But it was doomed from the beginning, wasn't it? If it wasn't the birds, it would be the flame that brought its end. Or perhaps a car, or theft, or vandalism. And even its survival would have been short-lived, brought to a close at the end of the season, its body dismantled by the hands of those who gave it life.

So perhaps the birds are welcome on its back, on its head and in its bones, tearing into its flesh as it stands immobile. Because at least this way, its death feeds thousands of lives that are tiny to it. Tiny, but not insignificant, for nothing truly is. Not the goat, not the birds that eat from its flesh, and not the thousands that look on, witnesses to its noble fate.

At the end of this season, what remains will be taken down. And next year, it will be brought back, the builders having learned from their mistakes. The straw will have no seed for the jackdaws, and the goat will await the return of the blaze that it knows so well.

[marlynnofmany]

"Set them on fire" wrong. BIRD ATTACK 🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦

[doctorslippery]

As of this morning, the Gavle Goat is still standing…

…but those jackdaws ate the shit out of it.

I think that should count as destroying it. It's a skeleton.

[freeoftheground]

Ok folks, the Gavle Goat is up and waiting for a light from a nice friendly local or tourist.

For those of you who aren't familiar with this unique less-than-legal holiday tradition, every year since 1966 the city of Gävle, Sweden commissions a traditional Swedish Yule Goat (Christmas Goat), made of straw and wood, and puts it in the town square (or some other central location) for people to celebrate over. Unfortunately, for the goat, a drunk local inadvertently started an underground tradition when he thought it would be funny to "light it up". Ever since that fateful year, various pranksters from Sweden and around the world have made it a tradition to burn it down, steal it, or hold it for ransom. In one elaborate prank, a plan was hatched to bribe a guard to look the other way while a helicopter would be used to hook a line onto it and fly it all the way to Stockholm. Eventually the underground tradition, although highly illegal, has become more popular than the goat itself. After going viral on the internet, the Gävle Goat has become one of Sweden's biggest tourist attractions during the holidays. Although the city and the federal government have spent millions on security solutions, to little avail, and have never wavered in prosecuting hooligans and pranksters that violate their precious Yule Goat, the tourist revenue can hardly be ignored. Now the Gävle Goat is on Twitter, pretty much taunting people to burn it down.

So the big question is: How long will it last this year? All bets are on...

[sins-of-the-sea]

Somewhere in Norway (clearly after seeing the Gavle Goat in Sweden) ...

"Gio..... don't look now...."

"But slowly... very slowly.... back away...."

"What?? You requested I brown the sugar more! I can't exactly do that without standing by the stov-

"O-Oh, my God!!"

"He must have smelled the chicken you're grilling right now!!"

"Ohh, he looks hungry! Maybe he can join us for breakfast!"

"No!! Don't feed that thing! It's a wild animal, it can try to come back for us for more food! Or have us for food!"

"We should make it go away! I know what to say to ward them off in these parts!" Ruixiong starts barking at the polar bear while waving his arms at it. "PERKELE!! PERKELE!!"

"Wrong language!"

"Wrong bear!"

[woodelf68]

Am I the only one who's finding beauty in seeing the underlying structure? *Wraps a long wooly scarf around its neck*

This is what the Goat looks like right now as of today, 12-27-23

Not only does it still look like it has its skull exposed (Even more now than before!) if you look too long it starts to look like it has sharp teeth too!

[msbarrows]

Went to check the Gavle Goat live cam (she’s still standing), and since I was on the web site anyway got curious and took a look at the web store full of goat-themed products.

This one made me laugh. A lot.

[chimera-obscurant]

How is the Gavle Goat still standing?? The gods demand sacrifice