At the request of Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, the Danish Parliament canceled a major public holiday to financially support its commitments to NATO and the war in Ukraine. The decision was widely criticized and resulted in public protests against the move.
The Danish Government is attempting to accelerate its initial goal of contributing 2% to NATO by 2033, hoping to reach that level by 2030 but it lacks the financial resources to do so. The prime minister argued that the extra working day would add another three billion Danish kroner [about 400 million dollars] to state coffers. She added that this is necessary in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
To fulfill its obligations, the Danish government chose to abolish the holiday known as “Store Bededag” [The Great Day of Prayer], a public holiday that has been celebrated since 1686. The holiday is traditionally held four weeks after Good Friday. The Danes eat wheat bread on this occasion and celebrate Spring. The prime minister insisted that the measure was necessary.