The Gävle Goat is up

Varje år till första advent byggs Gävelbocken. Tyävrr är jag alltid bortrest den helgen så jag får aldrig se när det tänder ljusen i hornen. I år har jag inte haft möjlighet att se honom än. För er som inte är bekant med Gävlebocken kommer här lite fakta hämtat från bockens hemsida.

Total vikt: 3,6 ton (varav halm 1,3 ton)
Total höjd: 13 meter
Mankhöjd: 7,6 meter
Längd: 7 meter
Röda band: 79,5 meter
Bockens ben: 2 meter i diameter
Lampor i hornen: 24 st
Halmen levereras från Låta gård i Uppland

För er som är mer intresserade rekommnederar jag bocken hemsida:
http://www.merjuligavle.se/merjuligavle/mjig_sida.aspx?id=11
Där finns det ocks en webcamera så du kan titta på honom.

Jag hoppas hinna se honom i år, innan han går upp i rök...

The picture is from the website and is not from this year.

Every year at the first Sunday of Advent the Gävle Goat is build and so even this year. Unfortunatilly I'm always away that weekend so I never get to see when they light up the lights in his horns. And this year I haven't seen him yet. The Gävle Goat is something that only happens in the town of Gävle.
I will give you some history that I found on his website.

The strange history of the Gävle Goat began in 1966. A man named Stig Gavlén came up with the idea of making a giant version of the traditional Swedish Christmas goat of straw. The aim was to attract customers to the the shops and restaurants in the southern part of the town centre.

On 2 December the 13-metre tall, 7-metre long, 3 tonne goat stood on the square. At the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve, the goat went up in smoke. The perpetrator was found and charged with vandalism.

The Gävle Goat has been burned down 22 times since then. We have therefore impregnated him with flame retardant chemicals, which will keep him fire proof. We did try this some 10 years ago, but the chemicals were then washed off by the rain.

The new chemicals are water and snowproof - and often used in airplanes -so we are very confident that the Gävle Goat will make it this year.

If you are interested you can visit the website to read more about him and his history and even watch him on the webcam. http://www.merjuligavle.se/merjuligavle/mjig_sida.aspx?id=71

I hope I get to see him before he goes up in flames...