This is a list of holidays in Denmark. Notice that not all of these are work holidays.
Date | English Name | Local Name | Remarks
|
January 1 | New Year's Day | Nytårsdag | New Year's Eve is celebrated with lots of fireworks, and the television broadcast of the Queen's annual New Year's speech. The clock on the cityhall in Copenhagen is broadcast on all TV channels to show the very moment it strikes 12. It is a Danish tradition to celebrate a holiday the evening before the actual day (e.g. Christmas, Mortensaften and Sankt Hans). People also celebrate the stroke of midnight with champagne and a piece of kransekage, (translated, ringcake)— an almond cake consisting of increasingly smaller and smaller rings stacked one on top of each other, creating an upside down cone form. On the eve of 1 January, television broadcasts the Prime Minister's annual address to the nation.
|
Seven weeks before Easter Sunday | Carnival | Fastelavn
| Children dress up in costumes and go door-to-door in search of sweets. Traditionally a cat was put inside a hanging wooden barrel and children took turns hitting the barrel with a bat until it broke. In modern times the cat has been replaced by candy.
|
The Thursday before Easter Sunday | Maundy Thursday | Skærtorsdag |
|
The Friday before Easter Sunday | Good Friday | Langfredag |
|
March/April | Easter Sunday | Påskesøndag
| Danes celebrate three days of Easter.
|
The day after Easter Sunday | Easter Monday | 2. Påskedag |
|
May 1 | Labour Day | Arbejdernes kampdag / 1. maj
| Not everybody has this day off, and few people attend the political meetings.
|
June 5 | Constitution Day | Grundlovsdag
| The signing of the Danish constitution in 1849.
|
The 4th Friday after Easter | | Store Bededag
| A collection of minor Christian holy days consolidated into one day. The name means Great Prayer Day.
|
40 days after Easter | Ascension Day | Kristi Himmelfartsdag |
|
7 weeks after Easter | Pentecost | Pinse
| Danes celebrate two days of Pentecost.
|
June 24 | Summer Solstice | Sankt Hans
| Sankt Hans is the Danish name of St. John the Baptist. The day is celebrated with a bonfire. See the Denmark section under Midsummer
|
November 10 | The Feast of Saint Martin | Mortensaften
| Sankt Morten is the Danish name of Saint Martin of Tours. Martin was forced to become a bishop by his parisioners and tried to hide in a barn. However, the noise of the geese gave him away. As "revenge" Danes traditionally eat goose this evening.
|
December 24 | Christmas Eve | Juleaften
| Presents are exchanged on Christmas Eve. A Christmas Calendar (Julekalender) TV show is shown each day the first 24 days of December. Once primarily aimed at children, adult comedy Julekalender shows have become a tradition as well. Children Julekalender shows are accompanied by a large paper calendar available in stores with 24 small sections that open to reveal something new to the ongoing story each day. The Christmas season is also celebrated by the lighting of candles on an Advantskrans on each of four Sundays prior to Christmas. See Denmark section under List of Christmas dishes.
|
December 25 | First Day of Christmas | Juledag / 1. Juledag
| Danes celebrate three days of Christmas.
|
December 26 | Second Day of Christmas | 2. Juledag |
|