The Burning Goat

Every year, an enormous goat made of straw is erected in the town square of Gävle, Sweden. And every year, there's always someone who tries to burn it down. I lived there for a year in high school but they hadn't come up with a plan to burn it down that year. But when I think of various pagan rituals, they usually involved fire. Sankta Lucia, a tale that originated in Italy about a pagan saint that fed the poor and brought light to the darkest day of the year, is all about the fire that supposedly burned her at the stake. As for the goat, perhaps the people of Gävle should build it every year, and burn it every year simply to celebrate the Christmas season.