“I maybe wouldn’t do it again. But I wouldn’t take it back either,” the woman who set the infamous IKEA Christmas goat on fire in 2016 told Stöð 2 in an exclusive TV interview. In November 2016, she and two others committed arson by burning down the infamous Christmas monument with the help of a generous dousing of gasoline. Each member of the trio was fined ISK 150,000 [$1,080, €1,025].
The Christmas Goat is based on traditional, albeit much smaller, straw Yule Goat figurines, and originated in Gävle, Sweden in 1966. The IKEA Christmas goat has been a popular target for firebugs in recent years and has been burned down by arsonists three times (in 2010, 2012, and 2016). It seemingly self-immolated in 2015, when it caught fire due to an electrical malfunction. But even in years when it hasn’t burned down, the Christmas Goat hasn’t fared much better: harsh winter winds have knocked it over on more than one occasion.
With her identity and voice disguised, the 2016 arsonist described a “certain adrenaline rush” brought on by the illegal endeavour. Asked why she decided to do it, she responded: “That’s a good question. I think the main reason was that it was really funny.”
