From Iceland — Christmas Goat Destroyed In Fire, Again

Christmas Goat Destroyed In Fire, Again

Published November 14, 2016

Andie Sophia Fontaine
Photo by
visir.is

Three were pursued and arrested under suspicion of having ignited the ill-fated Christmas Goat in front of the IKEA in Garðabær, and the act was captured on CCTV.

Vísir reports, with the CCTV footage in question, that first IKEA security and then police pursued and arrested three suspects at Bústaðavegur in Reykjavík at about four this morning. They are suspected of having ignited the Christmas Goat.

Only days ago an attempt was made to ignite the goat, which was ultimately unsuccessful.

Many of our readers might be familiar with the continuing misadventures of the beast, which is made of straw fastened around a thin metal frame. Just as is often the case in its native Sweden, the Christmas goat in Iceland has been subjected to all kinds of hardship over the years.

In both 2010 and 2012, vandals set fire to the goat. In 2011 and 2013, unusually high winds tore down the goat, whose thin metal frame was unable to stand up against Iceland’s trademark gusts.

Last year, the goat set itself on fire, in a way – faulty wiring in the Christmas lights reportedly sparked an ignition of the straw, and its glorious destruction was captured on video.

As such, this marks yet another year that the Christmas Goat has ended its tenure in flames.

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