Posted on 12/14/2012 5:24:05 AM PST by TurboZamboni
STOCKHOLM—Not even a layer of ice was enough to keep three people from torching the giant straw goat in a Swedish town where the annual challenge of charring it to the ground has become an unusual Christmas tradition for vandals. The 13-meter (43 foot) high and 3.6 ton heavy straw goat in the Swedish town of Gavle, meant to symbolize the seasonal spirit, was engulfed in flames for the 26th time overnight Thursday after the assailants crossed the fence surrounding it before setting it on fire.
(Excerpt) Read more at twincities.com ...
It's dark 18 hours a day that far north, and I guess you can only do so much drinking, sex, and drugs before you get bored.
Surely burnt straw goats comes to mind when symbolizing Christmas. Whatever....yah yah nanucks of the northern climes.
:: was engulfed in flames for the 26th time overnight Thursday ::
26 times over night? I know the nights are real long over there but, to rebuild it 25 times in one night is more effort than I would expect from any Swede.
It’s the lutfisk. Makes ‘em crazy, by golly.
Exactly why does a giant straw goat have any place in a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ?
Solution: Claymores
you would think that after the first 26 times they would have learned a thing or two
ROFLOL. I always thought rural Oklahoma got a little wild with the drinking by the lake. My wife is from Montana and, if the stories her brothers tell are true, our exploits from the entirety of our youth wouldn't begin to compare with a week of what her brothers did in the winter.
That just gets my goat.
I don’t know. Down in Texas we call that a pep rally for the UT vs A&M game.
Layer of ice? Correct me but wouldn’t a soaked pile of straw self ignite eventually?
Not much. But the straw Julbock (Yule goat) an old, old Scandinavian tradition, the origins of which and reasons for which are unclear. It has become associated with Christmas over the centuries. The Julbock does not have to be big; it's just that the city of Gävle has made a huge one for some years now. And as often as not, it gets burned down.
In the profession I’m in, it is difficult to find qualified employees. By qualified, I mean folks who will show up where they are supposed to, when they are supposed to, and reasonably on time. One of our employees had been acting a little shaky, but was otherwise “Qualified”.
So my boss asked him “what do you think about doing a drug test?” His answer “Sure boss, I’ll test any drugs you got!”
That was the end of any drug test nonsense....
I’d say that, after 26 times, burning it is part of the tradition.
Great, now my computer is covered in coffee! Are you sure his name wasn't Si?
That's a fact, JACK!
I’d say a single flaming arrow would take it down, with minimal risk.
“Great, now my computer is covered in coffee! Are you sure his name wasn’t Si?”
No, his name is Bob. He got run over by a truck and is now on disability. He’s doing great! Got him some new teeth, gained some weight (guess it’s hard to eat with bad teeth), and supposedly cut way down on the drugs!
A true success story.
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