Gävle Goat has a scare

Reports of assassination attempt on Goat’s little brother

By Will Collette

For the third year, we’re watching events in Gävle, Sweden closely to see if their famous Christmas Goat, called the Gävlebocken survives until Christmas. Each year, residents build a 40-foot tall goat in Castle Square from straw and sticks to celebrate the season. Then, the town tries to keep arsonists from torching the goat.

In many years, the arsonists win. Last year’s goat lasted 12 days. In 2011, the Gävle Goat was set alight in only six days. Most Gävle residents consider the contest to either preserve or burn the Goat to be great sport – I suspect a certain amount of alcohol and wagering may be involved.

In Charlestown, we do things simpler with our own New Year’s Eve bonfire, organized by Frank Glista, and held at Ninigret Park under the watchful eyes of the Charlestown Fire District. It's the place to be on December 31st. 

And, oops, I buried the lede, so please keep reading.

The Gävlebocken has his own website where he reports daily on weather conditions, notable visitors and observations of the passing parade.

Lillbocken: down but not out

But on December 12, the Gävlebocken blog reported the ominous news of a serious attack on “Lill Tresle,” one of his many “little brothers” that have been erected in homage at various locations around Gävle. Lill Tresle, also known as “Lillbocken,” was built by students at the Vaassa School. It stands within sight of his big brother, the Gävlebocken.

Person or persons unknown committed the foul deed of knocking Little Brother on his side, creating great alarm among local security forces and profound sadness for the Gävlebocken. I understand the Swedish armed forces have gone to Defcon 2.

Little Brother can probably be set back upright. I just hope he doesn’t suffer the fate of last year’s Lillbocken which was set on fire at around 3 AM on Christmas Eve.

Keep reading Progressive Charlestown for updates on the condition of the Gävlebocken and little Lillbocken. What other South County news source can make you that promise?