Google celebrated the Lunar New Year by creating an interactive Doodle on its homepage. This game is meant to highlight the Year of the Snake.
This Doodle includes a snake design and lets users play a classic snake game. The Doodle’s design honors Lunar New Year traditions, featuring red decorations, lanterns, and firecrackers meant to scare off Nian, a legendary creature. The Year of the Snake represents growth, creativity, and change.
The Doodle itself comes from South Korea and shows how people celebrate Lunar New Year in many Asian countries. This holiday has been celebrated for more than 3,000 years and follows the lunar calendar. It is based on the moon’s 12 phases and is celebrated for about 354 days a year. This is why its date changes a little each year on the regular calendar.
The 15-day festival follows a lunar calendar, which is different from the Western Gregorian Calendar. Lunar New Year, also known as Chinese New Year, starts today, January 29, 2025, and ends with the Lantern Festival on February 12, 2025.
Google Chrome is also introducing new background designs made by Asian and Pacific Islander artists on top of snake-themed backgrounds in the Chrome Web Store’s Themes section. Google Meet has added Lunar New Year-themed backgrounds for video calls as well. Alongside this, Google Play has set up a special hub for the Lunar New Year featuring various games and apps.
In the game, players guide a snake to collect items, making it longer with each collection while avoiding crashes. Google has made playable Doodles before, but this one was smooth and reacted quickly to keystrokes. My highest score was 28, but I’m sure anyone can beat that with time. There was also a daily challenge mode for those wanting a more competitive experience.
Google Arts & Culture is rolling out new content related to the Lunar New Year to promote cultural understanding. This includes virtual exhibits and stories highlighting the holiday’s history and significance across different cultures.
Google Search and Google Maps are also helping people find local Asian-owned businesses. This initiative makes it easier to discover restaurants and markets that offer traditional Lunar New Year foods like yi mein, tang yuan, and banh chun. On top of all that, Google TV is showcasing a selection of films related to the Year of the Snake, focusing on themes like renewal and new beginnings.
Source: Google
