Posted on 11/25/2004 11:45:56 PM PST by prisoner6
Looking for a net timewaster in the ealry morning hours as the holiday season in the US gets underway
Watch the Good Folk of Gavle Sweden build the several story high GAVLEBOCKEN - aka Christmas Goat - LIVE via webcam here:
It's a cool tradition I enjoy every year! HURRY THOUGH! It often gets burned to the ground, sometimes BEFORE Christmas!
A couple of years ago an American got into BIG trouble when after imbibing a bit too much he went to see The Goat and thought it was SUPPOSED to burn. Spent some time in the pokey IIRC.
prisoner6
Ummmm... okay :-)
LOL
Every year they talk about the new and improved ways they've secured it from being burt down. I'm pretty sure, however, that they prepare it with gasoline. After all, a 'julbock' that has not been burt to the ground will only be news-worthy one year, while having it going up in flames insures the local businessmen national coverage every year.
prisoner6
It would be SOOO SWEEET to celebrate the start of Winter's Retreat by building a full sized Viking galley, dressing up like a Viking, drink for three days with yer buds while the women folk hide in community halls preparing feasts, then wrap up the shindig by dragging the galley through the streets of town in a torch lit procession and finally setting fire to the it, sing and beat swords on shields while it burns.
It sure helps lighten the burden of The Bad Of The Year...
prisoner6
prisoner6
Ha! I love it!!!!!
I'm half Swedish and my favorite Yule tradition is glugg. Coincidentally, you set that on fire, too. Then you drink it. The recipe I have calls for port, red wine, aquavit and brandy. Also, some spices.
I'm really bad at Swedish but what I get from the article below is that the fire started in the early morning hours December 21 or maybe late the night before. So far police don't have a suspect. It's not known if the Bocken will be rebuilt.
Here's the story in Swedish...
Bocken brann i natt
Bocken i Gävle klarade sig inte fram till jul. Larmet om att bocken stod i ljusan låga kom kl 03.00. Trots att brandkåren snabbt var på plats kunde bocken inte räddas - nu återstår bara ett förkolnat träskelett.
Polisen har ingen misstänkt till dådet i nuläget.
- Bocken kommer inte att byggas upp igen. Vi kommer till och med att ha fullt sjå att få bort skelettet innan jul, säger Kurt Lagerholm, marknadschef på Arbetarbladet och medlem i bockkommittén.
and the link
and another story from Radio Gavleborg...
06:42 | tisdag 21 december 2004
Julbocken brann i natt
Julbocken i Gävle brann i natt. Vid tre-tiden kom larmet om att den stora halmbocken på Slottstorget stod i lågor, men trots en snabb insats av räddningstjänsten återstår bara ett rykande skelett.
-Det var faktiskt en av våra polispatruller som råkade vara på plats som rapporterade om branden, berättar Tony Härdin, vakthavande befäl vid Gävlepolisen.
Polisen har ännu inte någon misstänkt för dådet, och det är oklart om bocken kommer att byggas upp igen.
Sedan premiären 1966 har Gävlebocken ofta brunnit innan den har kunnat monteras ner. Förra året brann den två nätter före lucia, och förrförra året skonades den.
I was hoping it would make it through New Year....sigh. In any case...God Jul!
prisoner6
Here's the story on the gavle.se website, followed by my translation:
Julbocken har brunnit!
Bocken brann kl 03.00 tisdagen den 21 december. Brandkåren var snabbt på plats men tyvärr kunde inte bocken räddas. Det enda som fanns kvar av bocken på tisdagsmorgonen var ett träskelett. Någon ny bock kommer inte att byggas i år.
The Christmas goat has burned!
The goat burned at 3:00 a.m., Tuesday, December 21. The fire brigade was quickly on the scene but unfortunately the goat could not be rescued. The only thing which was found left of the goat on Tuesday morning was a wooden skeleton. Any new goat will not be built this year.
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