Public holidays in Denmark
8 days in 2026 · 8 in 2027
Back to DenmarkNext public holiday
Christmas Day
Juledag / 1. juledag
After it: St. Stephen's Day, Saturday 26 December
Friday, 25 December 2026
Church feasts make up the Danish list of public holidays, with New Year's Day the one exception: ten days in 2026 and ten in 2027. Two of them, Easter Sunday and Whit Sunday, always fall on a Sunday, so the days off that land on a working day are fewer, seven in 2026 and six in 2027. Easter gives five days in a row, from Maundy Thursday to Easter Monday.
The list had eleven days until 2023. Store bededag, Great Prayer Day, on the fourth Friday after Easter, went back to a royal regulation of 1686. On 28 February 2023 the Folketing voted 95 to 68 to abolish it from 2024, to raise money for defence, and it was kept for the last time on 5 May 2023. It is still a holiday in the Faroe Islands and Greenland.
Beside the list sits a second tier. Constitution Day on 5 June, Christmas Eve and the afternoon of New Year's Eve are not public holidays, yet the Closure Act, Lukkeloven, shuts larger shops on them. Many employers give those days off, and 1 May too, under contracts and collective agreements rather than the law.
- Days off in 2026
- 8Not counting Easter Sunday and Pentecost, always a Sunday
- On a weekday
- 7Monday to Friday
- On a weekend
- 1Saturday or Sunday
- Long weekends
- 3and 2 with one day of leave
2026
Public holidays in Denmark in 2026
- 1 January: New Year's DayNytårsdagNew Year's Day, the only day on the list that is not a church feast.Thursday
- 2 April: Maundy ThursdaySkærtorsdagMaundy Thursday. A day off in Denmark but not in every Nordic country, so Danish Easter starts a day before Sweden's.ThursdayDate moves
- 3 April: Good FridayLangfredagGood Friday. Flags fly at half mast.FridayDate moves
- 6 April: Easter Monday2. PåskedagEaster Monday, Anden påskedag in full, the last of five days off in a row.MondayDate moves
- 14 May: Ascension DayKristi HimmelfartsdagAscension Day, 40 days after Easter and always a Thursday, between 30 April and 3 June.ThursdayDate moves
- 25 May: Whit Monday2. PinsedagWhit Monday, Anden pinsedag. Like Maundy Thursday and Easter Monday, a day off in Denmark that not every Nordic neighbour keeps.MondayDate moves
- 25 December: Christmas DayJuledag / 1. juledagChristmas Day, the first of two Christmas days off.Friday
- 26 December: St. Stephen's Day2. juledagThe Second Day of Christmas, Anden juledag. Danmarks Nationalbank calls it Boxing Day in English.Saturday
Long weekends
Long weekends in Denmark in 2026
Runs of three days or more off, with weekends counted, and the working days that join a holiday to a weekend when taken as leave.
- 4daysThu 1 Jan to Sun 4 JanWith Fri 2 Jan taken as leave · New Year's Day
- 5daysThu 2 Apr to Mon 6 AprMaundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Monday
- 4daysThu 14 May to Sun 17 MayWith Fri 15 May taken as leave · Ascension Day
- 3daysSat 23 May to Mon 25 MayWhit Monday
- 3daysFri 25 Dec to Sun 27 DecChristmas Day, St. Stephen's Day
2027
Public holidays in Denmark in 2027
- 1 January: New Year's DayNytårsdagFriday
- 25 March: Maundy ThursdaySkærtorsdagThursdayDate moves
- 26 March: Good FridayLangfredagFridayDate moves
- 29 March: Easter Monday2. PåskedagMondayDate moves
- 6 May: Ascension DayKristi HimmelfartsdagThursdayDate moves
- 17 May: Whit Monday2. PinsedagMondayDate moves
- 25 December: Christmas DayJuledag / 1. juledagSaturday
- 26 December: St. Stephen's Day2. juledagSunday
Observances
Days marked in Denmark that are not days off
- 15 May: Bank closing dayBanklukkedagThe Friday after Ascension Day, when Danmarks Nationalbank and the banks close. It is not a public holiday.FridayDate moves
- 5 June: Constitution DayGrundlovsdagThe constitution of 1849. Not a public holiday but a flag day: shops close by law and many employees are off. Father's Day falls on the same date.Friday
- 24 December: Christmas EveJuleaftensdagChristmas Eve, when the Danish Christmas begins in the evening with the tree, presents and a family dinner. Shops close by law, though it is not a public holiday.Thursday
- 31 December: New Year's EveNytårsaftensdagNew Year's Eve. Most shops close by law from 15:00, and the monarch traditionally gives a televised speech at 18:00.Thursday
Neither calendar on file moves a holiday that lands on a weekend. In 2027 Christmas Day is a Saturday and the Second Day of Christmas a Sunday, and Danmarks Nationalbank's list for that year, like the provider's, has no replacement weekday.
From 1 January 2027 the Closure Act is amended so that certain shops in the centres of towns with fewer than 16,850 inhabitants may open on Constitution Day, Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. The Danish Business Authority decides each year which towns qualify.
Several dates are marked with flags and stay working days. On 9 April, the day of the German invasion in 1940, flags fly at half mast until noon. 5 May marks the German surrender in Denmark in 1945, though Bornholm was not freed that day. 15 June is both Valdemarsdag, for the battle of 1219 in Estonia at which Dannebrog is said to have fallen from the sky, and Reunification Day, for the return of Sønderjylland in 1920.
Common questions
Questions about public holidays in Denmark
How many public holidays does Denmark have in 2026?
Ten. Seven fall on a weekday: New Year's Day, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Ascension Day, Whit Monday and Christmas Day. The other three fall on a weekend, Easter Sunday on 5 April, Whit Sunday on 24 May and the Second Day of Christmas on Saturday 26 December. Constitution Day, Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve are not counted, although shops close on them.
Why did Denmark abolish Great Prayer Day?
To pay for defence. The proposal came on 14 December 2022, with an estimate that an extra working day would raise three billion kroner for the defence budget. Opposition parties, trade unions and the national church objected, and a petition to keep the day had passed 477,000 signatures by 28 February 2023. The Folketing passed the abolition that day by 95 votes to 68, effective from 2024.
Is Constitution Day a day off in Denmark?
Not by law. Grundlovsdag, 5 June, marks the constitution of 1849 and is a flag day, and the Closure Act shuts most shops on it. Whether offices close depends on the employment contract or collective agreement, and many do. The date lands on Friday 5 June in 2026 and on a Saturday in 2027.
Is 1 May a public holiday in Denmark?
No, although much of the country treats it as one. Many workplaces give the day off under collective agreements, and the labour unions hold meetings and marches in the morning that converge on parks, Fælledparken in Copenhagen best known among them. Offices and shops that are not covered by such an agreement stay open.
Are shops open on Christmas Eve in Denmark?
With few exceptions, no. The Closure Act keeps larger shops shut on every public holiday and also on Christmas Eve and Constitution Day, and from 15:00 on New Year's Eve. Small grocery stores can be exempt. From 1 January 2027 some shops in the centres of towns with fewer than 16,850 inhabitants may open on those three extra days.
What are the long weekends in Denmark in 2026?
Easter is the longest: five days from Thursday 2 April to Monday 6 April. Whitsun gives three, from Saturday 23 May to Monday 25 May, and Christmas Day on a Friday starts three more. Two need a single day of leave: Friday 2 January after New Year's Day, and Friday 15 May after Ascension Day, which is already a bank closing day.
When is Easter in Denmark in 2027?
Maundy Thursday falls on 25 March 2027 and Easter Monday on 29 March, so the five days off run from Thursday to Monday. Ascension Day follows on 6 May and Whit Monday on 17 May, both earlier than in 2026 because Easter is.
Why are Danish banks closed on the Friday after Ascension Day?
Danmarks Nationalbank lists it as a closing day beside the public holidays, together with Constitution Day, Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. In 2026 that Friday is 15 May and in 2027 it is 7 May. The rest of the economy works as normal unless an employer gives the day off, since Banklukkedag is not a public holiday.
Dates from Nager.Date, read 2026-09-26. The page counts from Monday, 28 September 2026, the day it was built.