Holidays in Denmark 2024 (public and unofficial), flag days
In this publication, All-Holidays.Info will talk about holidays in Denmark 2024. We will provide the exact dates of public and unofficial Danish holidays, as well as flag days in 2024. All dates are indicated taking into account the latest changes in legislation!
As in most Scandinavian countries, significant dates in the Kingdom are flag days or holidays. On Flag Day, all government agencies are required to display or raise the flag. The maintenance of this tradition by ordinary residents is also encouraged. Conventionally, all holidays in Denmark in 2024 can be divided into four categories:
Public holidays.
Unofficial holidays.
Church public holidays.
Local public holidays.
Danes have legal leave on public holidays. If a resident of the country must work on a public holiday, this is indicated in the employment contract. If such a day falls on a Sunday or Saturday, it will not be postponed.
Important! Until 2023 inclusive, Denmark had a public holiday, the Great Day of Prayer. Starting from January 1, 2024 inclusive, it is abolished by act LOV nr 214 af 03/06/2023 .
Unofficial holidays for the most part are considered traditional. They are not enshrined in law and are noted based on the initiatives of citizens and local authorities. Some unofficial holidays are indicated in employment contracts as non-working days, for example, Christmas Eve.
On church public holidays, residents of the country have the right to leave, as well as on ordinary public holidays. But on church holidays, events that interfere with worship cannot be held. According to the Law on Public Holidays LBK no. 279 af 17/06/1983 these include:
Processions with music.
Entertainment in public places of entertainment.
Mass auto racing.
Mass demonstration performances in gymnastics, sports and physical education, if professionals participate in them, or betting games are held.
Local public holidays are celebrated only in Greenland or the Faroe Islands. They are completely analogous to ordinary public holidays in Denmark. The only difference is that they do not apply to the rest of the Kingdom.
Holidays in Denmark 2024
This section lists holidays in Denmark 2024. For convenience, we have arranged them in chronological order by month.
January
January 1 (Monday) 2024 – New Year (public holiday).
January 6 (Saturday) 2024 – Epiphany (public holiday in Greenland).
February 6 (Tuesday) 2024 – Princess Mary’s birthday (unofficial holiday).
February 11 (Sunday) 2024 – Fastelavn (unofficial holiday).
Fastelavn is held on the eve of Lent, marks the end of the winter season and is considered the Danish version of carnival. Children dress up in costumes and gather in town squares across Denmark to hit the “fastelavnsris,” a barrel full of candy. The children take turns trying to break the barrel with a wooden bat. When the barrel breaks, the candy spills out and the kids try to collect as much as they can. Adults participate in mask parades called “fastelavnsoptog”. There are competitions for eating Fastelavnsris – cookies with a cream filling.
March
March 28 (Thursday) 2024 – Maundy Thursday (public holiday).
March 29 (Friday) 2024 – Good Friday (public holiday).
March 31 (Sunday) 2024 – Easter Sunday (public holiday).
April
April 1 (Monday) 2024 – Easter Monday (public holiday).
April 1 (Monday) 2024 – April Fool’s Day (unofficial holiday).
April 9 (Tuesday) 2024 – German invasion of Denmark (memorable date).
April 16 (Tuesday) 2024 – Birthday of Queen Margrethe II (unofficial holiday).
April 25 (Thursday) 2024 – National Flag Day (public holiday in the Faroe Islands).
May
May 1 (Wednesday) 2024 – International Workers’ Day (unofficial holiday).
May 5 (Sunday) 2024 – Liberation Day (unofficial holiday).
May 9 (Thursday) 2024 – Ascension of Christ (public holiday).
May 12 (Sunday) 2024 – Mother’s Day (unofficial holiday).
May 19 (Sunday) 2024 – Pentecost (public holiday).
May 20 (Monday) 2024 – Second Day of Pentecost (public holiday).
May 26 (Sunday) 2024 – Birthday of Crown Prince Frederik (unofficial holiday).
Interesting fact! Denmark was liberated from German troops on May 5, 1945. But the island of Bornholm was occupied by the Soviet Union for another 11 months. Only on April 5, 1946, the occupation of Bornholm ended and Denmark became a completely independent country.
June
June 5 (Wednesday) 2024 – Constitution Day (public holiday).
June 5 (Wednesday) 2024 – Father’s Day (unofficial holiday).
June 7 (Friday) 2024 – Prince Joachim’s birthday (unofficial holiday).
June 15 (Saturday) 2024 – Valdemar Day and Reunion Day (unofficial holiday).
June 21 (Friday) 2024 – National Day of Greenland (public holiday in Greenland).
June 23 (Sunday) 2024 – St. John’s Eve (unofficial holiday).
Valdemar’s Day commemorates the Danish victory over the Estonians at the Battle of Lindanize on June 15, 1219. According to legend, Bishop Sunesen prayed for a sign during the battle. In response to his prayers, a piece of red cloth with a white cross fell from the sky and a voice was heard saying: “When this banner is raised, you will win!” On that day, the Danes, led by Valdemar II, were victorious.
July
July 28 (Sunday) 2024 – St. Olaf’s Eve (public holiday in the Faroe Islands).
July 29 (Monday) 2024 – St. Olaf’s Day / Olafsok (public holiday in the Faroe Islands).
St. Olaf’s Day, or Olavsok, is the largest summer festival in the Faroe Islands. It is dedicated to King Olaf II of Norway, who reigned from 1015-1028. Olaf the Second was largely responsible for the spread of Christianity in the Faroe Islands and Norway. Olavsok has been celebrated since 1035, when Olaf II was canonized as a saint.
October
October 31 (Thursday) 2024 – Halloween (unofficial holiday).
November
November 10 (Sunday) 2024 – St. Martin’s Eve (unofficial holiday).
December
December 13 (Friday) 2024 – St. Lucy’s Day (unofficial holiday).
December 24 (Tuesday) 2024 – Christmas Eve (unofficial holiday).
December 25 (Wednesday) 2024 – Christmas (public holiday).
December 26 (Thursday) 2024 – Boxing Day (public holiday).
December 31 (Tuesday) 2024 – New Year’s Eve (unofficial holiday).
December 31 (Tuesday) 2024 – New Year’s Eve (public holiday in Greenland and the Faroe Islands).
Flag Days in Denmark 2024
Below are flag days in Denmark in 2024. We also briefly described how exactly flags are raised on flagpoles. Note that the Danish flag is always raised, except on National Days of Greenland and the Faroe Islands.
January 1 (Monday) 2024 – New Year.
5 February (Monday) 2024 – Birthday of Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mary.
6 February (Tuesday) 2024 – Birthday of Her Royal Highness Princess Mary.
March 29 (Friday) 2024 – Good Friday, flags are down.
March 31 (Sunday) 2024 – Easter.
April 9 (Tuesday) 2024 – Occupation Day, flags remain at half-staff until 12:00, then raised fully.
16 April (Tuesday) 2024 – Birthday of Her Majesty the Queen.
29 April (Monday) 2024 – Birthday of Her Royal Highness Princess Benedicta.
May 5 (Sunday) 2024 – Liberation Day.
May 9 (Thursday) 2024 – Ascension of Christ.
May 19 (Sunday) 2024 – Pentecost.
26 May (Sunday) 2024 – Birthday of His Royal Highness Crown Prince Frederik.
June 5 (Wednesday) 2024 – Constitution Day.
7 June (Friday) 2024 – Birthday of His Royal Highness Prince Joachim.
11 June (Tuesday) 2024 – Birthday of His Royal Highness Prince Henrik.
June 15 (Saturday) 2024 – Voldemar Day and Reunion Day.
June 21 (Friday) 2024 – National Day of Greenland, the Greenlandic flag of Erfalasorput is raised.
July 29 (Monday) 2024 – National holiday of the Faroe Islands – Olai Day, the flag of the Faroese Merkid is raised.
September 5 (Thursday) 2024 – Deployed Personnel Flag Day.
December 25 (Wednesday) 2024 – Christmas.
In this publication, we covered the following topic: holidays in Denmark 2024. All-Holidays.Info provided the exact dates of public and unofficial Danish holidays in 2024. We have also listed all valid flag days. We hope you found the information you were interested in. Don’t forget to share this post with your friends!
