But what is this year's zodiac, and what else has Google done to celebrate it? We explain, below.
When is Chinese New Year?
Falling on February 5 – TODAY – Chinese New Year marks the turn of the lunar year.
Based on the Chinese calendar, the celebration starts on the last day of the last month of the lunar cycle and ends on the 15th day of the first month.
Chinese New Year can begin anytime between January 21 and February 20.
There are 12 zodiac animals and 2019 is the Year of the Pig.
How does Google celebrate Chinese New Year?
This year's doodle animation is a hand which turns into a pig as it's this year's animal.
The animation is adorned with a red design which fits the Lunar calendar's original theme and style.
In addition to the doodle animation, Google has launched an interactive Lunar New Year game teaching you how to make shadow puppets for Chinese New Year using interactive AI technology.
The new Lunar New Year game was released by Google on Sunday, February 3.
Shadow puppetry has been used as a way of storytelling in Chinese for thousands of years.
It combines legends, tradition, music, art and craftsmanship.
Google created the interactive installation to connect people through art in a new and imaginative way.
How is the Year of the Pig celebrated?
Just as with other Chinese New Year celebrations, the Year of the Pig is usually celebrated with an immense lantern festival and fireworks.
In many places, including London, there is also a parade, with floats dedicated to the different zodiac.
The pig is the twelfth zodiac animal.
According to Chinese mythology, the Jade Emperor set the order of the zodiac by which animal arrived to his party.
The pig overslept, leading to him turning up late.
The pig is also associated with luck in the hours of 9–11pm, and the animal itself is associated with wealth.
Pig years are believed to be the most unlucky for people born in previous years of the Pig.
2018 was the Year of the Dog.
What is a Google Doodle?
In 1998, the search engine founders Larry and Sergey drew a stick figure behind the second 'o' of Google as a message to show that they were out of office at the Burning Man festival and with that, Google Doodles were born.
The company decided that they should decorate the logo to mark cultural moments and it soon became clear that users really enjoyed the change to the Google homepage.
In that same year, a turkey was added to Thanksgiving and two pumpkins appeared as the 'o's for Halloween the following year.
Now, there is a full team of doodlers, illustrators, graphic designers, animators and classically trained artists who help create what you see on those days.
Google kicked off 2019 with an animated Doodle of New Year's Eve celebrations.
On January 7, Fahrelnissa Zeid's life was celebrated with a colourful, kaleidoscopic Doodle on her 118th birthday.
And on January 11, the life of the first black singer on BBC Radio, Evelyn Dove, was celebrated.
Sake Dean Mahomed, who was the first to open an Indian restaurant in the UK, was also honoured with a Google Doodle on January 15.
Source: Read Full Article