On December 23, each of the letters in the word ‘Google’ represent a caroler with the letter ‘l’ waiting patiently to strike the triangle when the conductor, the letter ‘e’, gives it the nod.
On December 24, each of the letters is shown behind a misty window upon which they draw doodles such as stars and smiley faces.
“‘Tis the season for song! Wintertime brings with it a number of traditions, but few as old or joyful as caroling,” said Google in the original blog post. “Dating back thousands of years, the original carols were songs specific to certain regions, and shared by wandering minstrels on their travels between towns.”
The first songs were not Christmas Carols, however. They were pagan songs, sung to mark the Winter Solstice during which people danced round stone circles. In fact, the word carol comes from the Old French word ‘carole’ (which is from the Latin choralua) and meant a circle dance accompanied by singers.
Early Christians took over the pagan solstice celebrations for Christmas and gave people Christian songs to sing instead of pagan ones and it wasn’t until the early 1800’s that the practice of caroling as we know it, spread across England and western Europe.
During this time, cities started hosting outdoor orchestras that played songs for people to sing along with as they walked by.
On day two, the blog post said: “Happy holidays! This is the perfect time of year to cozy up to the window with your favorite blanket or mug, and watch the snow fall. While you’re there, sketch a foggy doodle or two (or five) of your own.”
The Google Doodles were designed by Gerben Steenks and both come in two versions – one for the Northern Hemisphere and one for the Southern. The ‘warmer climates’ Doodle shows the same animation, but the letters are stood on a beacth with flowers in their ‘hair’.
