Today, June the 5th, is each year the day when the Danes celebrate their national constitution (in danish: Grundlov). It is the day when in 1849 King Frederik the 7th. signed the first constitution, thereby giving power to the people in stead of the aristocracy or king.
Even though it is not an official holiday (it used to be half a holiday from 1891 to 1977) you can expect celebrations especially during the second half of the day. As Grundlovsdag is the day when people celebrate the Danish democracy, there will be numerous political speeches by leading politicians held throughout the country. A lot of them will be in a natural setting where people (hopefully) can enjoy the weather and landscape while listening to the speech.
Many shops and, after 12 o’clock in the afternoon, also companies will be closed. But since there is no law made about the celebration of Grundlovsdag it is up to the companies to decide if they will, or can, give there employees an afternoon off.
In the Chinese Calendar, each year is named after a different animal. According to legend, a swimming competition between all the animals was held to define which animal would rule each year, but only twelve succeeded in finishing it. The sequence of the names of the years in the calendar was defined according to the order of arrival. 2009 is the year of the ox. That is the animal that kept swimming and its determination was going to make it to be the first to arrive, but the rat, that got a ride on the ox’s back, jumped in front of it in the end of the competition.
Meng Fan, a chinese who lives in Århus, singing the Chinese Opera. At the back, Julie Brink, from the Venskabsforbundet Danmark-Kina.
With this story, Julie Brink, Chairman of the Friendship Association Denmark-China (Venskabsforbundet Danmark-Kina), a non-governmental organization created in 1952 to promote friendship and understanding between China and Denmark, opened the Chinese New Year festivities in Århus. Organized by this Friendship Association, the festivities took place in the Music Hall on Sunday, January 25th, one day before the Chinese New Year started. The Chinese Calendar is determined by the lunar phases, so its beginning varies each year.
Agreements between Denmark and China
In 2007, agreements between the governments of Denmark and China were established. The first one was a Memorandum of Understanding between China and Denmark, and the second was a China-Denmark Agreement on Mutual Recognition of Academic Degrees in Higher Education.
In 2008, three cooperation agreements between Beijing Normal University and Aalborg University were established. To know more: Danish Government’s Strategy for Knowledge Based Collaboration between Denmark and China.