Celebrating the Danish National Day

Last year we startet a tradition (or at least we hope that it will become a tradition) of celebrating the Danish National Day.

The Danish National Day falls on 5 June, the Constitution Day, and the day is not celebrated like the Norwegian 17 May or the American 4 July. The Danes go to political meetings, not parades. It is the day of the political parties, not the people per se.

The Danes got their Constitution in 1849, adopting a constitutional monarcy, based on the Belgian model. It was a very volatile time, with turmoil and social revolutions all over Europe. In order to prevent this a democratic reform began, ending in the Constitution signed 7 june 1849 by a reluctant King Christian 7, the last of the Oldenburg kings on the Danish throne.

Although we were not attempting to start a parade (the Danes are very good at parades when dissatisfied with something), we wanted to make give the day a positive value. Jan was really excited about singing the national anthem and other songs from the "Højskolesangbog" (a Danish song book).

Above are som pictures from this years celebration - a brunch with some of our friends.