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DANISH TRADITIONS

Labour Day: How does Denmark celebrate May 1st?

International Workers' Day, or Labour Day, is an occasion keenly celebrated by thousands across Denmark, a country known for its social democratic traditions.

Published: 1 May 2019 09:53 CEST
Updated: 1 May 2024 08:31 CEST
Labour Day: How does Denmark celebrate May 1st?
People carry banners at Fælledparken in Copenhagen on May 1st 2022. Photo: Philip Davali/Ritzau Scanpix

The day is not a public holiday like in other countries including Sweden, Norway, France and Germany, but many Danes treat it with just as much importance as their neighbours do. Some companies and much of the public sector give staff the day off.

History

Labour Day in Denmark is characterised by fiery speeches, red banners, worker’s songs and no shortage of beer and coffee.

The international tradition took hold in the Scandinavian nation in 1890, not long after workers around the world chose the first day of May to campaign for and celebrate the introduction of the eight-hour working day.

At this time, Denmark’s union movement attended large congresses in France to celebrate the centenary of the French Revolution, and the Danish worker’s day movement was born.

International Workers’ Day was celebrated for the first time in 1890 in Copenhagen’s Fælledparken, which remains the quintessential location for speeches by both union leaders and politicians to this day.

Labour Day in Copenhagen in 1957. Photo: Ulf Nilsen/Ritzau Scanpix

Speeches

It wouldn’t be May 1st without speeches, and the very first was held by Jens Jensen, chairman of Copenhagen’s unions at the end of the 19th century. The demand for an eight-hour working day continued as the main theme of Labour Day well into the 20th century.

Later, politicians, particularly on the left-wing or “red” side of the Danish political spectrum, began to use the occasion to appeal to workers. In 2013, for example, then-prime minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt was whistled and booed by a restive crowd in Aarhus amid criticism of what at the time was perceived to be the increasingly liberal policies of her Social Democrat-led government.

Occasionally, trade unions disinvite political leaders from the left wing parties to speak at their May 1st events if they are dissatisfied with their policies. This happened to Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen when she was in opposition as leader of the Social Democrats in 2018.

This year is likely to see considerable pushback against Frederiksen and her party over the coalition government’s decision to scrap the Great Prayer Day public holiday from next year. 

READ ALSO: Danish trade unions demand referendum over Great Prayer Day abolition

Pernille Skipper of the Red Green Alliance speaking at union 3F Kastrup on the morning of May 1st, 2019. Photo: Martin Sylvest / Ritzau Scanpix

Politics aside, the main aim of the union leader speeches is to promote solidarity in workers’ movements and campaign for better working conditions – new and surprising announcements are uncommon.

Anthems and banners

Singing in chorus, an activity that Danes do not need much encouragement to partake in, is closely associated with Labour Day. Anthems at Fælledparken have become less common over the years but local unions still have them.

Old socialist songs like The International and Danish favourites such as Sådan er Kapitalismen or Når jeg ser et rødt flag smælde (‘When I See a Red Flag’) are not an uncommon sight on social media on May 1st.

Red banners, meanwhile, mark out political messages as well as union and trade affiliations on Danish Labour Day gatherings.

People protest during Social Democrat leader Mette Frederiksen’s speech at Fælledparken in Copenhagen on May 1st, 2018. Photo: Mads Claus Rasmussen / Ritzau Scanpix

Meeting in parks

Workers in towns and cities all over the country can attend local Labour Day rallies, usually organised by trade unions.

Denmark’s Labour Day celebrations do not have the confrontational reputation of those in other countries’ large cities, notably Berlin, although there is generally some police presence particularly at larger events such as those at Fælledparken in Copenhagen or Tangkrogen in Aarhus.

The occasion is also seen as an opportunity to enjoy a day off – many go to parks with picnics, cans of beer and a thermos full of coffee.

Labour Day remains an unashamedly left-wing event – so much so that newspaper MetroXpress in 2017 published a spoof story about the then-leader of the right-wing Danish People’s Party, Kristian Thulesen Dahl, giving a speech on May 1st.

MetroXpress once featured a spoof story about a right-wing speech on May 1st. Photo: Liselotte Sabroe/Scanpix

Denmark’s traditions of social solidarity and strong labour unions have helped International Worker’s Day prevail as an event that is still going strong in modern, globalised times. Even if not everyone gets the day off.

For members

DANISH TRADITIONS

Why do the Danes take such long summer holidays?

Summer in Denmark means workplaces emptying for weeks on end and a flood of 'out of office' replies from colleagues and clients taking lengthy vacations. But have you ever wondered exactly how summer holidays of at least three weeks became so entrenched in Danish society?

Published: 2 July 2024 16:19 CEST
Why do the Danes take such long summer holidays?

The word sommerferielukket, meaning ‘closed for summer’ is something you’ll see on signs in hair salons, cafes, shops, libraries, and other businesses throughout July and sometimes beyond.

Denmark’s long summer holidays are written into law: most employers are legally obliged to allow their workers to take three consecutive weeks off in the summer. Naturally many of them jump at the chance, particularly if they have small children, whose børnehave (kindergarten) will also be sommerferielukket.

Some large Danish companies meanwhile halt operations over summer, and small business owners often decide to do the same. Authorities like municipal offices can also shut down non-essential services.

This all adds up to a strange feeling of emptiness in the bigger cities in July in particular, as those who haven’t gone abroad will often head to their rural summer houses. And the summer closures can be frustrating to those who aren’t used to the system, especially since they coincide with the tourist season.

All the same, it’s good to be aware of the custom so you don’t get caught out when that restaurant or shop you really wanted to visit is closed for the rest of the month.

READ ALSO: Five Danish phrases you only hear in summer

History

The right to take a long summer holiday that we take for granted today, did not come to Denmark until 1938. 

During the first half of the 20th century, as the agricultural sector diminished, an increase in young people who were finishing school, moved from the countryside to larger cities to find work. The new workers formed trade unions, which, among other things, fought for reduced working hours and later for the right to a holiday.

In 1919, the trade unions succeeded in getting working hours reduced to 50.5 hours a week with Sundays off. Then in 1938 they got the first holiday law passed (ferieloven). The holiday law gave all Danes the right to two weeks’ holiday a year. 

The law progressed into the creation of the organisation, ‘People’s Holiday’ (Folkeferie), which was formed to support and provide holiday opportunities for workers, so they had somewhere to go on holiday. During the 1960s and 1970s Danes then started building their own summer houses, as the welfare state grew.

The trade unions continued to negotiate during the following decades and in 1979, there was an agreement to five weeks of holiday. A major revision of the holiday law soon followed, so that all Danes were not only given the right, but also the duty, to take five weeks’ holiday. 

A new holiday act was passed in 2018 and implemented in September 2020, around a new concept of concurrent holidays. This allows employees to earn 2.08 holiday days each month, which they have access to use immediately, as opposed to the old scheme where workers earned holiday days for the following year.

READ ALSO: What are the rules for taking annual leave in Denmark?

The Danish Holiday Act (Ferieloven)

The Danish Holiday Act covers most salaried employees for five standard weeks (normally 25 days) of paid vacation. Holiday earned during a given month can be used from the very next month, in a rule referred to as concurrent holiday (samtidighedsferie). You can check how much holiday you have accrued and are therefore entitled to take at a given time by logging in to the relevant section of the borger.dk portal.

The vacation year is broken down so that there is a “main holiday period” (hovedferie in Danish) which starts on May 1st and ends on September 30th. During this time, you are entitled to take three weeks’ consecutive vacation out of your five weeks.

A lot of people take three weeks in a row while others break it up – which is why you often hear Danish people who work full time wishing each other a “good summer holiday” as if it’s the end of the school term.

Outside of the main holiday period, the remaining 10 days of vacation, termed øvrig ferie in Danish, can be taken whenever you like. You can take up to five days together but may also use the days individually.

If your employer wants to decide when you should take any of your vacation days, they have to let you know at least three months in advance for the main holiday, or one month in advance for remaining holiday, except for exceptional circumstances.

If you have not earned paid vacation, you still have the right to take unpaid holiday. However, people whose right to work in Denmark is dependent on a sponsored visa or other form of work permit should check whether their visa allows them to take unpaid leave, since this may not be the case.

READ ALSO: Feriepenge: Denmark’s vacation pay rules explained

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