Easter and spring festivals

Because Easter is a moving holiday, it sometimes falls in March when Denmark is still quite chilly, and sometimes in late April, when the bright Danish spring is already well underway. Whatever the weather, Easter week is the traditional opening of Tivoli, the beloved amusement park in downtown Copenhagen, which dates from 1843.

Danish families usually get together for a big Easter lunch that lasts all afternoon. Traditions such as painting hard-boiled eggs in Easter colours, going on egg hunts, and rolling eggs downhill are popular among children and adults alike.

The spring holiday calendar in Denmark also includes Whitsunday and Pentecost, as well as Great Prayer Day - a holiday celebrated only in Denmark. These are days off work when many shops are closed, but they have few special traditions surrounding them. Most Danes use them as a chance to escape to their summerhouses in the countryside.

May 1, the International Worker's Day, is a partial holiday in Denmark. People in the trade union movement may have a day off work, but most businesses are open.

Another partial holiday is the Danish Constitution Day, on June 5. A few businesses close part of the day, but most are open and Denmark generally does not hold parades or other festivities to mark the day.

However, the Danish embassies and missions abroad often invite their local counterparts and the local Danish community for social events highlighting Danish values such a democracy, equality and human rights.