Swedish yule goat torched by arsonist in war on christmas

November 30, 2016 1:52 PM EST A Christmas tragedy has struck the town of Gävle, Sweden—someone has torched their beloved yule goat. Each year the citizens of Gävle go to great time and

expense to build a giant goat effigy in the town’s Slottstorget square. For the holiday display, people decorate the massive wood-and-straw goat with lights and the town gathers together

around the Yule Goat on the first day of Advent to kick off the holiday season. > Nåja, vad är väl ett 50-årskalas på Slottstorget..? Det kan > vara dötrist och långtråkigt och 

alldeles... alldeles underbart! > ✨❤️🌙 pic.twitter.com/BJQHnB3FZm > — Gävlebocken (@Gavlebocken) November 27, 2016 According to _the Local_ this year marked the goat’s 50th anniversary

and Gävle spent approximately 2.3m kronor (nearly $250,000) to construct the Yule Goat and throw the annual bash. Less than 24 hours later, the goat went up in flames. While this criminal

act could be seen as another battle in the War on Christmas, it turns out that torching the goat is also a time-honored, if frowned upon, tradition. Several Yule Goats have been destroyed,

usually by fire. Last year, a “drunken man” set it ablaze, according to _the Local_. The committee responsible for the goat enacted extra security measures this year in the hopes of making

the goat last the week, but arsonists had other ideas. Though they do hint it will rise from the ashes. > Oh no, such a short amount of time with you my friends. 😢 But I > shall rise 

from the ashes and see you next year again! > — Gävlebocken (@Gavlebocken) November 27, 2016 [H/T Mashable]