If you go for a walk in the evening on May 4th, you will probably notice a lot of homes having candle lights in their windows. The reason for the lit candles is that Denmark was liberated in the year 1945 after five yeas of occupation due to Second World War.
Allthough it is many years ago, we still put candle lights in the windows to mark the evening of liberation.
For more than five years – from 1940 to 1945 – Denmark was occupied by Germany. Among other things the use of black out curtains was imposed from sunset to sunrise. A light in the window is thus a sign of hope, peace and freedom. Freedom after five years of rules a prohibition.
However, it was not an entire Denmark who became liberated in the evening of May 4th 1945. Bornholm was not liberated until April 5th 1946.