Religion makes people do strange things; but, which religion leads Sweden to build a giant straw goat every Christmas and which burns it?
http://beta.thehindu.com/news/international/article69633.ece
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M$2 Answers
In 1966, a citizen of Gävle, Sweden named Stig Gavlén wanted to make a gigantic version of the Yule Goat in the square of the city. It appears, both from the BBC article you supplied and the Wikipedia article on the goat, that the goat is not specifically built to be set on fire, but that vandals set the goat on fire. Bonfire traditions for the new year have been going on for quite awhile, and are thought to be a celebration of being rid of the past and moving onto the new, (literally) bright future. I'm sure the people of Gävle are either continuing that tradition, or it's simply just hard to resist lighting a giant straw goat on fire. There have been weirder traditions...
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M$
http://www.transworldnews.com/NewsStory.aspx?id=71733
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M$
When we lived in Italy, our neighbors would light a bonfire on January 6th (I believe that corresponds to the three kings arriving at Bethlehem, also Befana Day in Italy), and if the smoke went in the direction of the Pre-Alps (we were in the region of Friuli, right up next to the Alps) we were supposed to have a good year - or perhaps it was the other direction, I'm not sure. Either way, notice the blend of pre-Christian and Christian beliefs. It happens everywhere Christianity has been (or is), and I'm sure Sweden is no exception.