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Google's New Year's Eve Doodle Is Adorable

by Alicia Lu

Right now, many people are probably thinking the same thing: What will 2016 bring? That exciting, hopeful anticipation is illustrated perfectly by Google's New Year's Eve Doodle, which takes a simple and timeless metaphor and animates it to life. Five adorably plump birds eagerly look on as a "2016" egg prepares to hatch, representing the cliffhanger that is New Year's Eve in the sweetest, most joyful way possible. The delightful animation should come as no surprise, however, given the company's vast catalog of equally charming Doodles. There were quite a few outstanding Google Doodles just in 2015 alone.

Google's latest New Year's Eve Doodle features five birds on a wire surrounding a green egg labeled "2016." The curious birds, which are rendered in red, blue, and yellow, look on in anticipation as the egg quivers and shakes as if it's about to hatch at any moment. One bird occasionally takes out a pocket watch to check the time. The feathered onlookers are clearly curious to see exactly what 2016 looks like, as we all are. But both birds and users alike will just have to wait patiently to see what hatches out of the egg after midnight.

Like many before it, this Doodle is interactive. By clicking on the animation, one is taken to a results page for the search term "New Year's Eve," which includes information for local events in your city, the IMDB page for the 2011 romantic comedy New Year's Eve, and the Wikipedia page on the holiday. Check out the Doodle below.

It's a cheery, enchanting animation for sure, but it's far from the only one. Here are eight of the best Goodle Doodles that charmed us in 2015.

Valentine's Day

Is there anything cuter than two O's listening to the same song by sharing headphones?

St. Patrick's Day

There's perhaps no better way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day than with dancing and fiddling-playing clovers.

Mother's Day

This may be one of the sweetest Google Doodles ever created. Several species of mother and child pairings are illustrated to represent the universal appreciation for moms.

Father's Day

In the same vein as the Mother's Day Doodle, this one shows different species of father-child pairings.

NFL Kickoff Day

Google helped footballs fans get into the spirit with this quirky Doodle.

New Google Logo

While this may not have been a national holiday, it was definitely Google's biggest milestone of the year. To commemorate its brand-new logo, this Doodle illustrates the symbolic erasing of the old one and the drawing of the new one.

Halloween

To celebrate Halloween, Google created an elaborate game called the 2015 Global Candy Cup. Players choose between four global teams — blue, red, yellow, or green — and then use the space bar to make their team member fly to collect candy while dodging obstacles like bats and ghouls.

Beethoven's Baptism

Because his birthday is unknown, Google celebrated the 245th anniversary of Beethoven's baptism instead on December 17 with an interactive game allowing users to piece together the composer's famed "Symphony No. 5." (It's harder than you'd think!)

Images: Google