By Alethia Kasben
Managing Editor
Posted: December 23, 2019 1:31 PM

The Satanic Temple of West Michigan this weekend set up its display of a yule goat on the Capitol lawn where it will be put up each morning and taken down each night, per state rules, until December 27.

Satanic Temple followers first displayed the goat on Saturday, the winter solstice, and plan to continue putting up the display until after the Christmas holiday.

While the Capitol Christmas tree stays up day and night from November until well after Christmas, other religious items must be taken down at night. In previous years, other religious items like nativity scenes or a Menorah have also been displayed.

In the past, a "snaketivity" statue was displayed by the Satanic Temple of Detroit, but it has not been displayed during the last couple years.

The Grand Rapids chapter filled the void in 2018 and now this year. The yule goat's origins go back to Pagan festivals, according to Wikipedia. It is now best known as a Christmas ornament or holiday statue.