Danes to lose a national day off work ‘to save money for defence’

Parliament in Denmark has voted to cancel Great Prayer Day, a religious holiday in place since the 17^th century, so that three billion Danish krone (€403,073,400) can be saved for the defence budget, according to the BBC.

The vote was passed 95–68 to scrap the holiday after 50,000 protestors met outside parliament in Copenhagen earlier in February. The nearly 6 million Danish people have up to 11 annual public holidays.

“Stop the thief,” Karsten Honge, a member of the Socialist People’s Party, said during a parliamentary debate on Tuesday, according to the Associated Press.

“The government is ordering people to work one day more.”

“I don’t think it’s a problem to have to work an extra day,” Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in January.

The government said the reason for this measure was the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Denmark’s need to boost military preparedness. Denmark has a Royal Army, Navy and Air Force as well as the Danish Home Guard, a voluntary service in defence of the country, which also supports the army.

In 2023, Denmark is ranked 50 of 145 countries in the PowerIndex, current available firepower, according to Global Firepower. Spain is ranked 21, and the UK is ranked 5.

Denmark’s economy is ranked 7^th among 45 countries in Europe.

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