{"id":7369,"date":"2014-12-02T10:00:56","date_gmt":"2014-12-02T15:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.northpole.com\/blog\/?p=7369"},"modified":"2017-01-03T22:14:45","modified_gmt":"2017-01-04T03:14:45","slug":"gavlebocken-the-worlds-largest-yule-goat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.northpole.com\/blog\/gavlebocken-the-worlds-largest-yule-goat\/","title":{"rendered":"G?vlebocken: The World&#8217;s Largest Yule Goat"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As evidenced by some of my <a href=\"http:\/\/www.northpole.com\/blog\/etsy-item-of-the-day-dalahast-julbock-pillow\/\">Etsy<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.northpole.com\/blog\/etsy-item-of-the-day-swedish-christmas-sack\/\">selections<\/a> and by my own <a href=\"http:\/\/www.northpole.com\/blog\/countdown-to-christmas-6-days-to-go\/\">personal Christmas tree<\/a>, I LOVE julbocks [Swedish yule goats]. So it should come as no surprise that I also adore G?vlebocken, the massive julbock that is constructed each year at Castle Square in G?vle, Sweden. And when I say &ldquo;massive,&rdquo; I mean it?G?vlebocken weighs 3.6 tons and is 13 meters tall!<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-version=\"4\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:450px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\">\n<div style=\"padding:8px;\">\n<div style=\" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;\">\n<div style=\" background:url(data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAAGFBMVEUiIiI9PT0eHh4gIB4hIBkcHBwcHBwcHBydr+JQAAAACHRSTlMABA4YHyQsM5jtaMwAAADfSURBVDjL7ZVBEgMhCAQBAf\/\/42xcNbpAqakcM0ftUmFAAIBE81IqBJdS3lS6zs3bIpB9WED3YYXFPmHRfT8sgyrCP1x8uEUxLMzNWElFOYCV6mHWWwMzdPEKHlhLw7NWJqkHc4uIZphavDzA2JPzUDsBZziNae2S6owH8xPmX8G7zzgKEOPUoYHvGz1TBCxMkd3kwNVbU0gKHkx+iZILf77IofhrY1nYFnB\/lQPb79drWOyJVa\/DAvg9B\/rLB4cC+Nqgdz\/TvBbBnr6GBReqn\/nRmDgaQEej7WhonozjF+Y2I\/fZou\/qAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/p\/h0MMtgJGDA\/\" style=\" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;\" target=\"_top\">Dag 15 #g?vle #gavlegoat #gavlebocken #g?vlebocken #jul #visitgavle #christmas #sharegavle<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;\">A photo posted by G?vlebocken (@gavlebocken) on <time style=\" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;\" datetime=\"2013-12-12T08:50:08+00:00\">Dec 12, 2013 at 12:50am PST<\/time><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async defer src=\"\/\/platform.instagram.com\/en_US\/embeds.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>A holiday tradition since 1966, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.visitgavle.se\/sv\/the-gavle-goat\" target=\"_blank\">G?vlebocken<\/a> is erected each year at the beginning of Advent, and he is made of straw and adorned with red ribbons, similar to his smaller counterparts. G?vlebocken is usually accompanied by a shorter goat, referred to as his little brother or Lillbocken.<\/p>\n<p>For some weird reason, G?vlebocken is a favourite target of vandals, particularly arsonists \ud83d\ude41 The poor goat has been burned down or otherwise destroyed 27 times in his history. The organization who creates the goat each year [Southern Merchants] has taken measures to try and ensure G?vlebocken&#8217;s survival, including installing a 24-hour webcam, coating the goat with ice, and soaking the straw with a variety of anti-flammable liquids.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking of G?vlebocken&#8217;s webcam, you can view the live feed yourself <a href=\"http:\/\/www.visitgavle.se\/sv\/gavlebocken\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>!<\/p>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.visitgavle.se\/sv\/gavlebocken\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"nounderline\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.northpole.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/gavlekamera.jpg\" width=\"450\" height=\"351\" \/><\/a>\n<h6>Screen capture of G?vlebocken&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.visitgavle.se\/sv\/gavlebocken\" target=\"_blank\">webcam<\/a> from the middle of the night<\/h6>\n<p>Besides watching G?vlebocken&#8217;s webcam, it&#8217;s also fun to follow him on social media?he has a lot of personality for a straw goat. Check him out on <a href=\"http:\/\/instagram.com\/gavlebocken\" target=\"_blank\">Instagram [gavlebocken]<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/gavlebocken\" target=\"_blank\">Twitter [@Gavlebocken]<\/a>. G?vlebocken even has a <a href=\"http:\/\/merjuligavle.blogspot.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">blog<\/a>, which is particularly amusing. For example, yesterday he wrote about his little brother and said &#8220;[He] is the cutest little strawgoat you can imagine, and sometimes we play hide and seek or tag the Goat. Great fun!&#8221; Oh, and don&#8217;t fret?he posts online in Swedish <i>and<\/i> English, so you can keep up with all the goaty goings-on.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-version=\"4\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:450px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\">\n<div style=\"padding:8px;\">\n<div style=\" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;\">\n<div style=\" background:url(data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAAGFBMVEUiIiI9PT0eHh4gIB4hIBkcHBwcHBwcHBydr+JQAAAACHRSTlMABA4YHyQsM5jtaMwAAADfSURBVDjL7ZVBEgMhCAQBAf\/\/42xcNbpAqakcM0ftUmFAAIBE81IqBJdS3lS6zs3bIpB9WED3YYXFPmHRfT8sgyrCP1x8uEUxLMzNWElFOYCV6mHWWwMzdPEKHlhLw7NWJqkHc4uIZphavDzA2JPzUDsBZziNae2S6owH8xPmX8G7zzgKEOPUoYHvGz1TBCxMkd3kwNVbU0gKHkx+iZILf77IofhrY1nYFnB\/lQPb79drWOyJVa\/DAvg9B\/rLB4cC+Nqgdz\/TvBbBnr6GBReqn\/nRmDgaQEej7WhonozjF+Y2I\/fZou\/qAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/p\/hqOqNxJGBj\/\" style=\" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;\" target=\"_top\">Dag 11 #g?vle #gavlegoat #gavlebocken #g?vlebocken #christmas #jul #sharegavle #visitgavle<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;\">A photo posted by G?vlebocken (@gavlebocken) on <time style=\" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;\" datetime=\"2013-12-08T11:59:14+00:00\">Dec 12, 2013 at 3:59am PST<\/time><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async defer src=\"\/\/platform.instagram.com\/en_US\/embeds.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Intrigued by G?vlebocken? Shoot him an email at <a href=\"mailto:gavlegoat@merjuligavle.se\">gavlegoat@merjuligavle.se<\/a> to tell him <i>God Jul<\/i> or visit him this holiday season:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\nSlottstorget<br \/>\n802 50 G?vle<br \/>\nSweden\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As evidenced by some of my Etsy selections and by my own personal Christmas tree, I LOVE julbocks [Swedish yule goats]. So it should come as no surprise that I also adore G?vlebocken, the massive julbock that is constructed each year at Castle Square in G?vle, Sweden. And when I say &ldquo;massive,&rdquo; I mean it?G?vlebocken&hellip;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.northpole.com\/blog\/gavlebocken-the-worlds-largest-yule-goat\/\">Continue reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7371,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,58],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-merry-misc","category-pets-and-animals"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.northpole.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.northpole.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.northpole.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.northpole.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.northpole.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7369"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.northpole.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7369\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7445,"href":"https:\/\/www.northpole.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7369\/revisions\/7445"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.northpole.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.northpole.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.northpole.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.northpole.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}