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Most Danes doubt return of Great Prayer Day holiday
🇩🇰 Denmark /Elections & Politics

Most Danes doubt return of Great Prayer Day holiday

From Berlingske · () Danish

Translated from Danish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News From a news agency Context piece
  • A majority of Danes do not believe the reintroduced public holiday, Great Prayer Day, will become a reality by 2030.
  • The current government coalition has pledged to reinstate the holiday, which was abolished in 2023 to fund defense spending.
  • A recent poll indicates that only three in ten Danes want the holiday back, with most people either disbelieving its return or indifferent.

Despite the current Danish government's pledge to reinstate "Store Bededag" (Great Prayer Day) as a public holiday by 2030, a significant majority of Danes are skeptical. A recent poll by Voxmeter reveals that six out of ten people do not believe the holiday will actually return.

The government, a coalition of Social Democrats, Social Liberals, Moderates, and the Green Left, included the reinstatement of the holiday in its foundational agreement. This promise was made despite the holiday's abolition in 2023, a move intended to increase employment and generate approximately three billion Danish kroner annually by boosting the workforce by an estimated 8,500 people.

We will reintroduce Great Prayer Day.

— Lars Løkke RasmussenAt the presentation of the government's foundational agreement on June 2, 2023.

Lars Løkke Rasmussen, leader of the Moderates and current Minister of Foreign Affairs, confidently stated at the government's presentation in June 2023, "We will reintroduce Great Prayer Day." Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen also assured the public, "Great Prayer Day is coming back." However, the public's belief in these assurances appears to be waning.

The Voxmeter survey, which polled 1,038 individuals over 18, found that less than half of Danes actually desire the holiday's return. Three in ten respondents expressed no wish for its reinstatement, while the remainder were undecided. The poll was conducted between June 11 and June 15.

Great Prayer Day is coming back.

— Mette FrederiksenSpeaking to TV 2 later on June 2, 2023.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Berlingske in Danish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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