Maria Valberg

You might think that the Swedish holiday season is all about meatballs, ski slopes and northern lights, but another highlight of the festive period is Gävlebåken, a giant effigy made of straw that's been part of the Christmas celebrations for almost six decades, as Maria Valberg from Gävle Council explains.

The goat symbol has origins in pagan traditions and Nordic mythology. Up to the 1800s, it was actually a quite scary looking goat man who brought presents during the festive season in Sweden. Today, the goat is a common Christmas decoration. I've got one myself, although it's much smaller than the one on display in Javla.

The effigy takes about 1,000 hours to make, but that effort has perhaps felt like a bit of a waste for the workers involved. Sister Goat has regularly met a fiery fate. Even in its first years, it didn't last longer than New Year's Eve, setting a tradition for decades to come. Once, it was burned down by vandals who used burning arrows to set it alight.

Over the last couple of years, the council has upped its budget and put in a range of protections, double fencing, CCTV, security guards and 24-7 monitoring. All failed to deter the arsonists. Many Swedes follow the council's live stream to check in on the celebrity, with some betting on how long it will last this holiday season.

This past weekend, video footage began spreading on social media, suggesting the goat had once again met its match. A clip showed the goat doing what it does best, going up in flames. And it seemed like this year's display was done for. But it turned out the clip originated from a fake website, järvlaboken.com, which imitated the council's live stream.

And Swedish TV is reporting that the video was created using artificial intelligence. The council reported the website and it has now been taken down. On the real live feed, the goat appears to be doing fine, where it stands on the square with a sprinkle of snow on the ground. As for now, it's still standing.