Categories: Culture

Google Welcomes Lunar New Year 2023 With Year of the Rabbit Doodle

Google

Sunday marks the beginning of a new year — the Lunar New Year.

On this day, also known as the Chinese New Year, we bid farewell to the Year of the Tiger and welcome the Year of the Rabbit. Referred to as the Spring Festival in China, the holiday is traditionally a time to honor deities and ancestors.

Joining in the celebration of the new lunar year, Google created a Doodle that welcomes the Year of the Rabbit, the fourth animal in the 12-animal zodiac. In Asian cultures, the rabbit symbolizes grace, beauty, mercy and good luck. The Doodle artwork is crafted from paper to honor the Chinese paper-cutting Jianzhi, which dates back tot he second century.

One popular legend dating back thousands of years holds that a mythical beast would emerge at the beginning of the year from under the Earth and terrorize villagers. Since the beast, Nian (Chinese for “year”), was afraid of bright lights, loud noises and the color red, they were used to exile the beast.

While the new year is typically associated with a fresh start in many cultures, the Lunar New Year is seen as a time of reunion and rebirth, marking the end of winter and the start of spring. Unlike holidays tied to the solar Gregorian calendar, the traditional Chinese calendar marks the days of the year through the ancient lunisolar Chinese calendar system, which bases months on the moon’s phases.

Homes are thoroughly cleaned to sweep away old ill fortune to make room for coming good luck, and fireworks are set off to ward off evil monsters and bad luck. The festivities typically last about two weeks, kicking off with a nighttime parade featuring floats, dragons, dancers and musicians.

Google is also joining in celebration by planting a search Easter egg that sets off a fireworks display on its results page when you search for terms related to the Lunar New Year, including Year of the Rabbit.

You can wish someone a happy Chinese new year with the Cantonese greeting, “Gong hei fat choy.”

Our Favorite Google Doodles Through the Years


+46 more

See all photos

Share

Recent Posts

Trump taps RFK Jr. to lead Department of Health and Human Services

President-elect Trump selected Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the U.S. Department of Health and…

8 minutes ago

Senate Dems race to confirm Biden judges ahead of Trump’s presidency

Senate Democrats are rushing to confirm as many of President Biden's judicial picks as possible…

8 minutes ago

‘Malign influence’: Top Biden official faces backlash ahead of address at forum with deep ties to CCP

The Biden administration is facing backlash after it was revealed on social media that a…

8 minutes ago

Donald Trump Jr ally Sergio Gor offered top White House personnel job: report

One of Donald Trump Jr.'s allies and business partners has reportedly been offered a key…

8 minutes ago

Oregon Democrat unseats GOP incumbent in toss-up House race, narrowing Republicans’ majority

Oregon Republican Rep. Lori-Chavez-DeRemer has been ousted by Democratic challenger state Rep. Janelle Bynum in…

2 hours ago

Top GOP senators warn DOJ to preserve Jack Smith docs in Trump cases, citing ‘past destruction’ of records

Top Republican senators are telling officials in the Department of Justice to ensure that all…

2 hours ago