Sweden

Since early pagan rituals, the Yule Goat has been a Swedish Christmas symbol. The tradition was given a new lease on life in 1966 when someone came up with the concept of making a large straw goat, now known as the Gävle Goat.

Gävle Goat was created with the intention of attracting customers to the city's southern stores and eateries. The massive goat was erected in Castle Square on the first Sunday of Advent in 1966. The Gävle Goat has become a Christmas emblem in the same spot every year since then and is now well-known all around the world. The goat is the world's largest straw goat and was initially inducted into the Guinness Book of Records in 1985.