National Day of Greenland and Denmark

Breathing down each other's necks to show our love.

Greenland’s National Day on 21 June is a national festival in all towns and settlements in Greenland. The National Day was introduced in 1983 as one of the Home Rule’s traditions and is thus one of several expressions of national identity which is also reflected in the flag, clothing, national anthem and language. At each location, celebrations consist of a programme comprising morning songs, speeches, hoisting of the flag, a church service, kaffemik and local entertainment such as music, folk dancing, displays of kayaking skills, etc.

Despite being a democratic dependency, Greenland has gone through a series of referenda in which the citizens of Greenland have voted for more autonomy from Denmark, which ruled Greenland fully from the mid 18th century through to 1979. National Day started in 1983, in part related t the Home Rule agreement. National Day is a celebration of Greenlandic culture and it’s people, and an expression of national identity. This was the dawn of a new era of self-government fro Greenland. It’s Greenland, it’s June 21st and all bets are off. On this day, every town in Greenland stops and celebrates National Day. This is a time to wear your best, sing your heart out, host/attend a Kaffemik and be with the whole community, all together. This day has a full program all over the country.