{{Infobox holiday , holiday_name = Store bededag , type = , image = , imagesize = , caption = , official_name = , nickname = Great Prayer Day , observedby =

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

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; formerly:

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, litcolor = , longtype = , significance = , begins = , ends = , date = 4th Friday after Easter , date{{#time:Y, last year = {{#invoke:Easter, Calculate, {{#time:Y, last year, day=26, format= j F , date{{#time:Y = {{#invoke:Easter, Calculate, {{#time:Y , day=26, format= j F , date{{#time:Y, next year = {{#invoke:Easter, Calculate, {{#time:Y, next year, day=26, format= j F , date{{#time:Y, +2 years = {{#invoke:Easter, Calculate, {{#time:Y, +2 years , day=26, format= j F , duration = 1 day , frequency = annual , celebrations = , observances = , relatedto = Store bededag, translated literally as Great Prayer Day or more loosely as General Prayer Day, "All Prayers" Day, Great Day of Prayers or Common Prayer Day, is a Danish holiday celebrated on the 4th Friday after

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

. It is also celebrated in the

, where it is called dýri biðidagur, and in

( kl, tussiarfissuaq).

Overview

Store bededag is a collection of minor

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

holy days consolidated into one day. The day was introduced in the

Church of Denmark The Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Denmark or National Church, sometimes called the Church of Denmark ( da, Folkekirken, literally: "The People's Church" or unofficially da, Den danske folkekirke, literally: "The Danish People's Church"; kl, ...

in 1686 by King Christian V as a consolidation of several minor (or local)

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

holidays that had survived the Reformation of the national church. ''Store bededag'' is a statutory holiday in Denmark. It was one of the few holidays that survived in the great holiday reform that was carried out in 1771 during the reign of

Christian VII Christian VII (29 January 1749 – 13 March 1808) was a monarch of the House of Oldenburg who was King of Denmark–Norway and Duke of Schleswig and Holstein from 1766 until his death in 1808. For his motto he chose: "''Gloria ex amore patriae''" ...

, when his

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

, Count Johann Friedrich von Struensee, was in power. The day was introduced as a more efficient alternative to individually celebrating a number of holidays honoring various minor saints in the

Spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a ...

. It was not, however, Struensee who had come up with the idea of this particular reform, as the church commission which had worked on it had been instituted several years before Struensee arrived at the Danish court. Bells in every church announce the eve of ''store bededag''. There are very few traditions associated with ''store bededag''. Formerly, citizens and students of

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

strolled the city ramparts on the evening before the holiday; the students of

Copenhagen University The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public research university in Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia after Uppsala Unive ...

did this to honour the many students who had died defending Copenhagen during

the assault on Copenhagen The Battle of Copenhagen also known as the Assault on Copenhagen on 11 February 1659 was a major battle during the Second Northern War, taking place during the siege of Copenhagen by the Swedish army. Background During the Northern Wars, ...

. In the evening before the holiday, it was customary to buy and eat ''varme hveder'', a traditional bread, because bakers were closed on holidays and people bought bread for the following day. Today, the city ramparts are gone and instead the tradition is to walk along Langelinie on Copenhagen's waterfront or on the fortification of Kastellet, though only few follow this tradition depending on the spring weather. It is more common, also outside Copenhagen, to still buy and eat ''varme hveder''. This and ''Kristi himmelfartsdag'' (Ascension Thursday) are the only two days, other than Saturdays and Sundays, on which

confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...

s take place, for confirmation is part of regular church services. The earliest possible day is April 17 (if Easter falls on March 22), the latest possible day is May 21 (if Easter falls on April 25).

Sources

Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs

External links

Great Prayer Day
Holidays based on the date of Easter Protestant holy days Public holidays in Denmark April observances May observances