Day 22 Julbocken

There's a large park in Gothenburg called Slottskogen--The castle forest. It houses many Scandinavian breeds of animals including moose, geese and ducks, seals, sheep and goats. I have no idea what his actual name is, but this is who we called Sir Stinky/Captain Stinks-Alot. The goatiest smelling goat I have ever met. But we were freinds and so here he is being led away from a hearty lunch of the Julbock, the Scandinavian Christmas goat.

Goats have been part of the yule time celebrations since forever in Sweden. They've morphed over the years, like most of our traditions. There are seveal theories surrounding the yule goat. The ancient god Thor had a chariot pulled by a set of goats.

Another theory is that this practice is based in Indo-European harvest traditions, where the last sheaf of grain bundled during the harvest was thought to contain the spirit of the harvest and was saved for Yule celebrations—many early European customs included harvest gods that looked like goats—farmers often referred to their bundles as goats because of the resemblance. The role of the Yule goat has changed over time. In Scandinavia, young men in costumes would walk between houses singing songs and performing pranks. The group of Christmas characters would often include the Yule goat, a rowdy, sometimes scary, creature. The group would be rewarded with candy or seasonal treats, and in some traditions a member of each household visited would join the group. This practice, called Julebukking or Julebocken, is still practiced in some parts of Scandinavia today and is similar now to Halloween customs in the United States!

Carnagie Museum of Natural History

The Gäwvlebock is a massive yule goat that stands above 40 feet/12 meters. There is a livestream to check in on it. For the past 5 years it has been safe from being burnt or damaged by pranksters. It's a polarizing object. People are either team goat or team blowtorch. I really like the goat!