Vandals have continued one of the strangest traditions of the Christmas season: theyâve burned down Swedenâs beloved Yule Goat.
The giant straw goat, set up annually in the town of GĂ€vle, is attacked by arsonists regularly â so often, in fact, that itâs more likely to burn down than make it through the season intact.
This yearâs edition was about 42 feet tall and supposed to be a little harder to burn. The Local reports that it was equipped with cameras and protected by two guards.
Local politicians even offered a âgoat guaranteeâ that it would survive at least through this weekend, the 50th anniversary of the tradition, according to the news site.
Instead, the âGĂ€vlebockenâ goat met its fate on Sunday... the âopening nightâ of the seasonâs festivities.
âThere will be a great, great sadness for GĂ€vle residents, the GĂ€vle goat and for all of its fans over the world,â event spokeswoman Maria Wallberg told Swedenâs TT news, according to UPI.
She said someone threw a molotov cocktail at the goat, igniting the blaze.
The goat took to Twitter with a promise to rise again like a phoenix:
UPI reports that the goat has now been burned in 35 of its 50 years.
Hereâs a before-and-after of the 2004 goat:
Hereâs what was left of the 2009 goat:
The 2013 goat met a similar fate:
The Local said event organizers were trying to determine if itâs possible to rebuild the goat, which took 1,000 hours to create and cost nearly $250,000, in time for Christmas.
However, a post on the cityâs Facebook page in âtribute to our missing friendâ suggests itâs over for the 2016 goat.
âYou looked exceptionally handsome,â the tribute concludes. âSee you again in about a year.â
The BBC reports that the arson is under investigation, but no arrests have been made.