Even though Great Prayer Day is no longer an official public holiday, a majority of Danes still cling to the tradition of eating “hveder” (a type of sweet bun) the night before. This year marks the first time that the day is considered a regular working day, but it doesn’t seem to have dampened the Danes’ appetite for the traditional buns. “Hveder,” which are made of a mix of eggs, sugar, yeast, salt, butter, cardamom, milk, and wheat flour, have been a part of Danish culture since the 18th century.
Despite the change in holiday status, a new survey by Voxmeter shows that 58.6% of respondents still plan to consume “hveder” in connection with Great Prayer Day. Only 27.9% of respondents reject following the tradition, while 13.5% are unsure. Bakers and supermarkets have not been idle and have intensified their marketing with creative slogans such as “Make Store Bededag great again” and “Hos os kan du stadig bede om en hvede” (You can still ask for a “hvede” from us). These initiatives seem to be paying off according to the survey.
Caroline Nyvang, a senior researcher at the Danish Folklore Archives, believes that some Danes will choose to eat “hveder” as a form of protest against the government’s decision to abolish the day as an official holiday. “The decision caused a lot of uproar. Many are indignant, and one way to show it can be to go to the bakery and buy ‘hvedeknopper’,” she says. Although some traditions weaken over time, Nyvang is convinced that “hveder” will survive as part of Danish culture, just as “fastelavnsboller” (Shrovetide buns) have, even though few practice the tradition of hitting the barrel to release the candy inside.
The survey also shows that only 5% of respondents still have Great Prayer Day as an official day off at their workplaces. Around 10% have taken the day off using vacation or compensatory days off, some of whom are parents who have coordinated this with school closures. In the largest Danish municipalities, only in Copenhagen is Great Prayer Day still a holiday. In Aarhus, Odense, and Aalborg, the day has become a regular school day. This new initiative has received a mixed reception among the population, but the popularity of ‘hveder’ seems to endure.