“But you, man of God, fight the good fight of the faith.”
Massive protests erupted against the Danish government’s plan to reduce Christian holidays to boost defence spending.
According to foreign media such as Reuters, on the 5th (local time), a crowd of 50,000 people gathered in the capital Copenhagen to protest against the plan to abolish the 330-year-old “Great Prayer Day” public holiday. The Trade Union that organized the protest said the protest was the largest in 10 years.
Previously, Danish Social Democratic Party Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen proposed ending the Great Prayer Day holiday three years ahead of schedule to increase defence spending following the war in Ukraine.
The Danish government is expected to increase tax revenue by 4.5 billion Danish Kroner,
(approximately 654 million dollars, approximately 815.6 billion won) from the abolition of the holiday and plans to allocate that amount to the national defence budget in line with the NATO-led 2% target of GDP.
However, labour and academia oppose the plan as the increase in tax revenues will only produce a temporary effect because the workers will avoid working extra hours. The coalition government led by Prime Minister Frederiksen is determined to pass a law to reduce public holidays despite opposition.
The Day of Great Prayer was first instituted as a day of prayer and fasting when it officially became a holiday in 1686. In the early days, when the ringing of church bells signalled the beginning of the prayer day, all work and commerce, including baking, was prohibited until the holiday was over.
People were advised to refrain from gambling and travelling as well.
To avoid interruption, Danish bakers baked wheat bread generously buttered on Thursdays and preserved it for reheating the next day. Baking is no longer prohibited on the Great Day of Prayer in modern Denmark, but it has been dedicated as a day for prayer for the country and the world together with Christians of various denominations.
There were 22 Christian-origin holidays in Denmark by 1770, but due to various government reforms about half of them were abolished. The Great Prayer Day is one of the days instituted through such reform efforts.
“Efforts to abolish Christian holidays in Denmark are the latest step infringe on religious freedom since the introduction of a bill in 2021 requiring all religious institutions, including churches, to submit translated sermons to the government to prevent Islamic terror,” the Christian Post wrote. (source: Christian Today synthesis).
And constant friction between people of corrupt minds, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain. But you, man of God, flee from all this and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. (1 Timothy 6:5, 11-12)
God, please stop the Danish government’s movement to abolish the 330-year-old prayer day and infringe on religious freedom to increase the defence budget. Pray the hearts of those who came to You in prayer in humility on the first Great Prayer Day be instilled in the hearts of the people who gather in the demonstration so that they may humble themselves before You and fight the good fight of faith. May this be a catalyst to wake up the sleeping church in Denmark and to raise up the people of God who pray for the nation and the world.
Prayer 24·365
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