Given the arrival of snow and sub-zero conditions with the start of January 2026, perhaps you're dreaming of days off in warmer times, enabled by Denmark's selection of public holidays or fridage.
Advance planning can help you to make the most of public holidays, which sometimes fall adjacent to or a day apart from the weekend.
But do 2026's Christmas holidays avoid the dreaded arbejdsgiverjul or 'bosses' Christmas', when the holidays fall at the weekend and you don't get any additional days off?
Beginning at the start of the year, January 1st 2026 -- New Year's Day -- was a Wednesday, which made it difficult to gain a longer spell of time off work without using annual leave to tie the holiday to a weekend.
The Easter holidays are more advantageous, with Maundy Thursday (skærtorsdag) and Good Friday falling, as always, on the last two days of the week -- in this case, April 2nd and 3rd. This gives you a long weekend which extends to five days given Easter Monday, April 6th, is also a holiday.
After Easter, public holidays come in fairly quick succession with the next one being Ascension Day or Kristi himmelfartsdag as it's known in Danish. This comes on Thursday May 14th, meaning that for the price of one day of paid leave on Friday May 15th, you can get a four-day weekend at a time of year when spring is usually in full bloom.
The spring bank holidays are rounded off with Whitsunday and Whitmonday (pinsedag and anden pinsedag), this year on May 24th and 25th. This means two consecutive weekends with public holidays around them. You could use some annual leave to take off the adjoining week -- which would give 12 days off in a row -- or content yourself with the luxury of another long weekend.
READ ALSO: What are the rules for taking annual leave in Denmark?
That leaves us with Christmas, and if you like your festive season to last as long as possible, you might be slightly disappointed this year -- although there'll still be a long weekend.
With Christmas Eve falling on a Thursday, the two Christmas public holidays -- Christmas Day and Boxing Day -- are on a Friday and Saturday, leading straight into Sunday December 27th.
Because Boxing Day is on a Saturday this year, it vanishes as a public holiday for the many people who don't work on weekends.
This means 2026 compares unfavourably with 2025, when Christmas Day and Boxing Day were on a Thursday and Friday, perfectly placed next to the weekend. It's probably better than 2024, though, when you might have had to go back to work between Christmas and the following weekend.
It's also worth keeping in mind that many Danish employers give their staff an unofficial half or full day off on Christmas Eve.
Here's a full break-down of the public holidays in Denmark in 2026.
New Year's Day: January 1st (Thursday)
Palm Sunday: March 29th (Sunday)
Maundy Thursday: April 2nd (Thursday)
Good Friday: April 3rd (Friday)
Easter: April 5th (Sunday)
Easter Monday: April 6th (Monday)
Ascension Day: May 14th (Thursday)
Whitsunday and Whitmonday: May 24th (Sunday) and May 25th (Monday)
Christmas Day: December 25th (Friday) and Boxing Day: December 26th (Saturday)
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