The Christmas Goat, or Julbok, in Gavle, Sweden, is still intact, surrounded by a (hopefully) protective fence and a live-stream to protect it from the fire that has consumed many of its predecessors.
The town has been erecting the giant straw goat since 1966, but a few years later it was burned, and the battle against arsonists has continued; the goat has burned before Christmas more often than not, although in recent years it only succumbed to flames in 2016 and 2021.
2023’s goat didn’t survive either: It was made of straw that was too wet and tasty, and was destroyed by flocks of hungry birds.
You can watch the livestream on the town’s website, but there is no link provided for reporting suspicious characters with torches.
UPDATE, December 25, 2025
It’s Christmas, and the goat has survived again!