“Ramadan is also Danish,” musician Isam B
Early this week, Ramadan (the month of fasting) started for the Muslim community in Denmark. This means that your Muslim friends and/or colleagues abstain from eating and drinking from dawn to sunset. In the public space, this has triggered a debate about the place of the Muslim holidays in Danish society, begging the question: after how many decades in Denmark should your culture be considered part of Denmark’s heritage.
Speaking of heritage, our space hero Andreas Mogensen has returned safely home from the International Space Station after six months. Moving forward, he will be under medical supervision at the European Space Agency HQ in Germany, as his body suffered quite a few transformations after being away from Earth for so long.
If you are on a long sick leave, you can look forward to fewer discussions with the Jobcentre. A new political agreement for those on sick leave will significantly reduce the number of mandatory calls with caseworkers and other administrative burdens.
In other news, the clock is ticking for the 1,000 DKK banknote. In a year and a few months from now, we will no longer be able to use the 1,000 DKK banknote. As a result, people have started to buy chewing gum from small stores so that they can exchange their banknotes. Now, the government wants to give small stores the option to refuse the 1,000 DKK banknote if the value of the products customers buy is less than 500 DKK.
We will end this week’s column with a reminder that spring has finally arrived! You probably noticed the warmer air, saw the spring flowers, and heard the birds singing in your garden. Please share with us your little corner of paradise via picture, video, or creative words. Send it to one of our social media teams – Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn.
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Word of the Week
Borgmester = Mayor. Word derived from Low German “burgemeister” which means city manager. The mayor is the chairman of the city council and the day-to-day manager of the city administration. In Denmark, you don’t vote directly for the mayor. The elected council members decide who gets to be the mayor. *Unusually, Copenhagen has several mayors and a lord mayor (overborgmester) above them.
