Flag Day
For Danes who are or has been deployed to a mission abroad based on a parliamentary, governmental, or a ministerial decision.
Danish National Flag Day
September 5 is the National Flag Day for the Danish Armed Forces. On this day soldiers and other service member who have served abroad are recognized for the contributions they made, and the sacrifices of the fallen are beeing honoured.
The purpose of the National Flag Day
The purpose of National Flag Day is to recognize and honour the people who are or have been deployed to a mission abroad, whether based on a parliamentary, governmental, or a ministerial decision. It pertains to the Danish Armed Forces, the Danish Emergency Management Agency, the Danish Police, the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Danish Health Service.
The National Flag Day is a day when Denmark recognizes and shows respect for those deployed, who through their efforts help to ensure that Danes can live in safety and security. The National Flag Day is a day to remember the fallen and to salute those deployed.
The National Flag Day is also a recognition of and thanks to the relatives of those deployed. They also carry their part of the burden of Denmark's international engagement.
The initiative behind the National Flag Day
The idea of having a National Flag Day came from Private Kim Eg Thygesen. Following his deployments to Kosovo in 2004 and Afghanistan in 2006, he felt that that Denmark should honor its personnel deployments on a National Flag Day. The National Flag Day was approved by the Danish government in 2009 and was marked for the first time that year. In 2024 it will thus be the 16th time that the National Flag Day will be held.
What happens on National Flag Day?
The day involves a main event in Copenhagen as well as a range of local events across Denmark, the Faroes, and Greenland. The day sees an official laying of wreathes at the Citadel memorial, representatives of government institutions attend a memorial service for the fallen, and there is a parade at Parliament square in honor of those who deployed this year. In that way the day serves as a reunion for personnel who have returned home.
Since 2018 National Flag Day has also included a separate regional event in Jylland. In 2024 this event will take place in Aarhus.
But there are regional events across the country, and in the Faroes and Greenland. In 2023, almost all out of the country’s 98 municipalities marked National Flag Day.
Outside the capital main event, Flag Day activities are planned and executed jointly by local authorities, garrisons, and units. Local veterans are invited to all municipal Flag Day activities. Local veteran and personnel organizations play a big part in the local events.