The Danish government has decided to abolish the Store Bededag (“great day of prayer”) public holiday from next year, it announced on Thursday. In compensation, the workers will receive a slightly higher salary.
As soon as it took office in December, the brand new government of Social Democratic Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced that it would abolish a public holiday. The proceeds of this measure would be used to increase defense spending.
The Danish executive has now acted on this announcement, tabling a bill to abolish Store Bededag as a general public holiday. This Christian holiday – introduced in 1686 – is celebrated on the fourth Friday after Easter. From 2024, this day will be considered a working day. As compensation, workers with a fixed contract will see their wages increase by 0.45%.
The Ministry of Finance had already announced on Wednesday that this abolition of a public holiday would increase the gross domestic product (GDP) by 9.4 billion crowns (1.3 billion euros) and would bail out the state coffers by 3 .2 billion Danish crowns (430 million euros) per year.