Kajaanin’s four-metre straw goat will burn at Kekri festival

A straw figure more than four metres tall will be set alight on the Kajaaninjoki River in Kajaani on Saturday as the highlight of the city’s Kekri festival, Yle reports. Yle Areena’s live broadcast starts at 18:00, with the fire planned for about 18:15.

The annual event is held to bring people together and symbolically send away the worries of the old year, along with restless spirits. The figure, known as a Kekri goat, is built from straw and has horns.

Kekri was an important celebration in Finland’s agricultural society, held after the harvest was gathered and farm work completed. The Kajaani tradition began in 2002, when students from the Kainuu Vocational Institute built and burned a nearly three-metre straw goat by the river.

Saturday’s festivities begin with music at Rantapuisto, a park in Kajaani, at 18:00. The Kekri market opens at noon.