Date |
English Name |
Danish Name |
Remarks |
February 5 |
Crown Princess Mary's birthday |
Prinsesse Marys fødselsdag |
This is not celebrated a lot, yet, but one day she may become the Queen (Consort) of Denmark. |
Seven weeks before Easter Sunday |
Fastelavn |
Fastelavn |
Diminished version of the catholic Carnival. On the following day, Fastelavnsmandag, children go to school dressed up in costume and go door-to-door for candy and sweets. A popular baked good associated with the day is Fastelavnsbolle (lit. Fastelavns bun), a round sweet roll usually covered with icing and filled with cream. |
Sunday before Easter Sunday |
Palm Sunday |
Palmesøndag |
|
April 1 |
April Fools' Day |
1. April |
The day is marked by the commission of hoaxes and other practical jokes of varying sophistication on friends, enemies and neighbours, or sending them on fools' errands, the aim of which is to embarrass the gullible. |
April 9 |
Occupation of Denmark |
Danmarks besættelse |
Historic date. This was the day when Germany invaded Denmark in World War II. Flags on flagpoles must be at half mast until 12:00, to indicate the mourning, after that it goes to full mast to indicate that Denmark is a free country today. |
April 16 |
Birthday of Queen Margrethe II |
Dronningens fødselsdag |
The Queen is usually celebrated in some places, and she will appear on her balcony at her Castle. |
April 29 |
Princess Benedikte's birthday |
Prinsesse Benedikte fødselsdag |
Outside of the royal house there is no particular tradition for celebrating on this day. |
May 1 |
International Workers' Day |
Arbejdernes kampdag / 1. maj |
Left-wing political day. Many people try to get a day off this day, and some even have it in their employment contract. Many people attend political meetings in the morning arranged by the labour unions or the labour parties, afterwards demonstrations are held all over the country, going from the place of the meeting and joining each other along the way to a joint meeting place, often a park. The demonstrations can differ in size from a few hundred to ten-thousands depending on the city and organisation. The day is also knowns as "Arbejdernes kamp og festdag" (Workers day of struggle and celebration) referring to the celebration of the past victories of the workers movement, especially the 8-hours working day. Many, both families and young people, meet at the sites of the political meetings holding picnics and drink beer and other alcoholic beverages. Copenhagen's Fælledparken is well known for its annual May 1 celebrations, gathering an average of a hundred thousand people at the meating of the central Labour Union "LO"[1]. This is a full holiday for blue collar workers, but not for white collar workers. |
May 5 |
Liberation day |
Danmarks befrielse |
Historic date. This was the day that the German forces surrendered in Denmark under World War II. However, the island of Bornholm was not liberated on this date - instead, the occupation continued until the Red Army liberated the island. Afterwards the USSR held control of the island for a time, before it were rejoined with the rest of Denmark. The day is marked by public memorial ceremonies for fallen members of the Danish resistance, and by demonstrations of the left-wing, booth in memory of the communist resistance fighters and also carrying slogans of peace and solidarity linking the struggle in the past with new ones today. |
May 26 |
Birthday of Crown Prince Frederik |
Kronprins Frederiks fødselsdag |
This is not celebrated a lot, yet, but one day he will become the King of Denmark. |
June 5 |
Constitution Day (Denmark) |
Grundlovsdag |
Political day. The signing of the Danish constitution in 1849. Some people attend political meetings, though many - especially the elderly - meet at the sites of the political meetings to drink beer and other alcoholic beverages. With a few exceptions, all shops stay closed on Grundlovsdag by law.[1] |
June 7 |
Birthday of Prince Joachim |
Prins Joachims fødselsdag |
This is not celebrated a lot. |
June 11 |
Birthday of Prince Henrik |
Prins Henriks fødselsdag |
This is not celebrated a lot. |
June 15 |
Day of Valdemar and Reunion day |
Valdemarsdag og Genforeningsdag |
Celebration of Valdemar II of Denmark's victory in a battle in Estonia in 1219, at which Denmark got its national flag Dannebrog. It is also the date on which Danes celebrate that Sønderjylland in 1920 was reunited with the rest of Denmark after a referendum. |
June 23 |
Saint John's Eve |
Sankt Hans aften |
Pre-Christianity celebration day, celebrating summer solstice on June 24. Sankt Hans (Johannes) is the Danish name of St. John the Baptist. The day is celebrated with a bonfire on the evening before. See the Denmark section under Midsummer |
October 31 |
Halloween |
Allehelgensaften |
According to superstition, the 31 October is the night when witches, ghosts and dark forces are set loose to disgrace the saints celebrated on the following Allehelgensdag. |
November 10 |
The eve before Saint Martin's day |
Mortensaften |
November 11 is a catholic day. Sankt Morten is the Danish name of Saint Martin of Tours. Martin was forced to become a bishop by his parishioners and tried to hide in a barn. However, the noise of the geese gave him away. It was a tradition to eat goose for the evening meal to honour this event, although over time duck has become the preferred dish on this occasion. |
December 13 |
Saint Lucy's Day |
Sankta Lucia |
Catholic day that was located on winter solstice before the European calendar reform. |
December 24 |
Christmas Eve |
Juleaften |
The celebration of Christmas in Denmark starts in the evening, traditionally with a Christmas tree, exchanging presents and having dinner with the family. With a few exceptions, all shops stay closed by law on Juleaftensdag, the day of Juleaften.[1] The name "Jul" meens "Wheel" and is derived from the old viking celebration of the turning of the year. |
December 31 |
New Year's Eve |
Nytårsaften |
Mostly celebrated with friends and family. The Queen traditionally holds a televised speech at 6:00 PM. Midnight is celebrated with champagne, kransekage (lit. translated, ringcake) — an almond cake consisting of increasingly smaller and smaller rings stacked one on top of each other, creating a cone form — and private displays of fireworks. With a few exceptions, all shops stay closed by law from 3 PM on Nytårsaftensdag, the day of Nytårsaften.[1] |