HOLIDAYS IN DENMARK
From April 1st to June 23rd there are thirteen holidays in Denmark, seven royal birthdays, and one royal wedding anniversary. This guide tells you what the different holidays commemorate and what to expect in the way of celebration/closures.
April 1st Palm Sunday
The beginning of the Christian holy week that ends on Easter, Palm Sunday celebrates the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, as described in the Bible. Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey the Sunday before he was crucified. As he rode into the city, people laid palm fronds down in his path. Church goers may have a special service on Palm Sunday in Denmark, but otherwise, the day is like any other Sunday.
April 5th Maundy Thursday
On this day four events are commemorated by Christians: the washing of the Disciple's feet by Jesus Christ, the Last Supper, the agony of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, and the betrayal of Christ by Judas. Danes don't have any special traditions for this day, but it is the first of five days off from work, so many people travel out of town. Shops and offices are closed on this day.
April 6th Good Friday
Good Friday is a Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus. Special prayer services are often held on this day with readings from the Bible giving accounts of the events leading up to the crucifixion. Danes don't have any special traditions for this day. Shops and offices are closed.
April 7th is not a holiday, so shops are open. They tend to be crowded after two days closed.
April 8th Easter Sunday
Celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. There are special church services on this day.
April 9th Easter Monday / Occupation Day
A day set aside to reflect upon Jesus's resurrection. Danes don't have any special traditions for this day. Shops and offices are closed.
This year, Easter Monday falls on the same day as the commemoration of the German occupation in 1940. Flags fly at half mast on this day. Normally, this is not a work holiday.
April 16th Queen Margrethe's birthday
The queen was born on this day in 1940. She celebrates her birthday in Amalienborg in Copenhagen, or in Marselisborg in Århus. People gather on the castle grounds to celebrate her and cheer. Flags are flown throughout the country.
There are several other royal birthdays and a wedding anniversary in the spring, including Crown Prince Frederik's birthday and Prince Joachim's birthday. Generally, flags are flown on these days, but Danes do not otherwise celebrate them. They are not work holidays.
May 1st Labor day
Not everybody has this day off, and few people attend the political meetings associated with the day.
May 4th Great Prayer Day
This day is a consolidation of several minor Christian holy days.
Shops and offices are closed on this day. Some Danes still hold a day of prayer, and there are church services in the national church. Traditionally, people eat warm wheat rolls the evening of May 3rd.
May 5th Independence Day
This day celebrates Danish independence from German occupation in 1945. The German retreat was announced on the radio in Denmark on the evening of May 4th, and people celebrated and lit candles in their windows. This had been forbidden under the occupation, when windows needed to be blacked-out at night. Today, flags are flown and some families still burn candles in their windows the evening of May 4th.
This is not a work holiday.
May 17th Ascension Day
Celebrates the ascension of Jesus into heaven. Danes don't have any special traditions for this day. Shops and offices are closed.
May 27th Pentecost
May 28th Second day of Pentecost
Also called Whitsun or Whit Sunday/Monday, these days commemorate the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and the followers of Jesus, as described in the Bible. In Denmark, it is rarely celebrated elaborately. It is the last work holiday before summer vacation and shops and offices are closed.
June 5th Constitution Day
The anniversary of the day the Danish constitution was signed by Frederik the 7th in 1849, this is the closest thing Danes have to a national day. Some people get a half day off on this day, but few people attend the political meetings that take place.
June 15th Valdemars Day (Flag Day) and Reunification Day
Valdemars day is a celebration of June 15th, 1219, when according to myth, the Danish flag fell from heaven in Estonia where Danish King Valdemar triumphed in a battle against the Estonians. Flags are flown on this day.
Reunification day celebrates the day in 1920 when the region of Southern Jutland (North Schleswig) came under Danish rule after belonging to the Germans since 1864.
Danes don't have any special traditions for this day. It is not a work holiday.
June 23rd Sankthansaften
A combination of traditional and Christian holidays, the holiday originally took place on June 21st and celebrated the summer solstice. It was the day on which the medieval wise men and women gathered special herbs that they needed to cure people for the rest of the year.
The Christians adopted the holiday as a balance to Jesus' birthday around the time of the winter solstice, and used the day to celebrate John the Baptist's (Saint Johannes or Saint Hans for short) birthday on June 24th. In accordance with Danish tradition, the holiday is celebrated the evening before the actual day.
It has been celebrated since the time of the Vikings by visiting healing water sources and making a large bonfire to ward away evil spirits. Today, bonfires, speeches, picnics and songs are traditional. In the 1920s a tradition of putting a witch made of straw and cloth on the bonfire emerged as a remembrance of the church's witch burnings from 1540 to 1693.
There is always a reason to rent a holiday home in Denmark for the next holiday:
Ferienhauser Dänemark: