--- title: Vernal Equinox: First Day of Spring Celebrated in New Google Doodle description: The vernal equinox, the first day of Spring, is celebrated by a new Google Doodle, coinciding with a solar eclipse, design features flowers canonical: https://time.com/3752099/vernal-equinox-first-day-spring-google-doodle/ author: Kevin McSpadden article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-20T05:51:49.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:43:30.357Z og:title: New Google Doodle Celebrates First Day of Spring og:description: A celestial trifecta welcomes in the change of seasons. og:url: https://time.com/3752099/vernal-equinox-first-day-spring-google-doodle/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcea76a44f56cd8c9/698784845f570f57ccb15d8f/unnamed.gif?branch=production&width=469&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 469 og:image:height: 264 og:image:alt: unnamed og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: New Google Doodle Celebrates First Day of Spring twitter:description: A celestial trifecta welcomes in the change of seasons. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcea76a44f56cd8c9/698784845f570f57ccb15d8f/unnamed.gif?branch=production&width=469&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Vernal Equinox: New Google Doodle Celebrates First Day of Spring ## Video: How Google Makes its Doodles [Watch (HLS stream): How Google Makes its Doodles](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/upF0qp1E.m3u8) (3:23)  _Published 2018-07-07. Our videographer went to the Googleplex in Mountain View, California to meet some of the designers and coders who create the special, clever variations on the Google.com logo known as_ by [Kevin McSpadden](https://time.com/author/kevin-mcspadden/) ## Kevin McSpadden Mar 20, 2015 5:51 AM UTC  Kirsten Lepore—Google by [Kevin McSpadden](https://time.com/author/kevin-mcspadden/) ## Kevin McSpadden Mar 20, 2015 5:51 AM UTC The Sun, the moon, and Google are celebrating the official start of spring — this year’s vernal equinox on March 20 will include a solar eclipse, a supermoon and a stop-animation Google Doodle. As [TIME wrote last year](http://time.com/30230/springtime-is-finally-here-as-vernal-equinox-arrives/), the vernal equinox is when “earth’s axis is angled such that the world gets an equal amount of daylight and night,” signaling the start of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. This year’s spring begins with a celestial bang. Most of Europe and parts of northern Africa and Asia will be treated with a partial solar eclipse and the few inhabitants of the Danish Faroe Islands and [Norway’s Svalbard archipelago](http://news.yahoo.com/magical-views-top-world-solar-eclipse-035246453.html) will be lucky enough to witness a total eclipse. Or, you can watch a streaming broadcast [here](http://main.slooh.com/). In parts of Europe, Google is adding an animated eclipse to their Doodle. Fans hoping for a grandiose stargazing experience will be disappointed to learn that the supermoon, when our moon’s elliptical orbit reaches its closest point to earth, will be invisible because a new moon is required for a solar eclipse. The Google Doodle welcomes springtime with a lovely line of flowers that grow and bloom before a bumblebee lands in the middle to collect pollen. _Read next:_ [_See the Best Solar Eclipse Pictures_](http://time.com/3752275/solar-eclipse-photos/?iid=time%5Freadnext) ### See Google Doodles Through the Years  Aug. 26, 2015 For the 70th anniversary of La Tomatina. Google  May 26, 2015 In celebration of the 64th birthday of Sally Ride, the first American woman in space. Google  March 31, 2015 Honoring the 126th anniversary of the public opening of the Eiffel Tower. Google  Mar. 20, 2015 To celebrate the start of spring and the vernal equinox, Google created a stop-motion animation of flowers in bloom. Google  Nov. 12, 2014 For the landing of the Philae lander, the first spacecraft on a moving comet, Google created a gyrating lander with passing stars. Google  Sept. 9, 2014 For Tolstoy's 186th birthday, the Google Doodle team created an appropriately long click-through doodle. Google  May 27, 2014 For the Rachel Louise Carson doodle, the team surrounded her with birds and sea creatures to celebrate her 107th birthday. Google  May 4 2014 For Audrey Hepburn's 85th birthday, the doodle team adapted an image from a 1956 black and white photograph taken by Yousuf Karsh. Google  June 9, 2011 The doodlers came up with the idea of a playable logo, then pegged it to guitar innovator Les Paul's 96th birthday. Turning on composer mode allows you to create songs that you can share online. Google  March 24, 2011 The Harry Houdini doodle was created in the style of the old posters advertising the death-defying magician. Google  Nov. 25, 2010 Chef Ina Garten prepared this Thanksgiving feast, which Google photographed. If you clicked on a dish, her recipe appeared. Google  May 7, 2010 Google asked the San Francisco Ballet to pose and twirl to re-create Pyotr Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. Google  Oct. 7, 2009 Scan the doodle that marks the first patent for the bar code and you'll decode Google embedded within. Google  March 2, 2009 The doodlers arranged classic Dr. Seuss characters, like the Cat in the Hat and the Grinch, to form the logo's letters. Google  Jan. 28, 2009 There was no other way to honor abstract artist Jackson Pollack than with a chaotic drip painting. Google  Jan. 19, 2009 Guest artist Shepard Fairey (famed for his Obama HOPE poster) did a sketch for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Google  Jan. 28, 2008 Early on, Google used Lego blocks as casing for hard disks. Later it feted Lego's 50th anniversary. Google  April 22, 2007 A melting iceberg for Earth Day is one of many eco-minded doodles the team has created. Google  Jan. 4, 2006 Enter the world of out-there doodles — Google in braille. Only problem: you can't feel it. Google  March 30, 2005 The Van Gogh doodle appeared in an era when doodles began to get more ambitious, and it's one of the doodlers' best interpretations of a specific painter. Google  Aug. 13, 2003 Early doodles of famous folk tended to be simple, like this silhouette of Alfred Hitchcock. Google  March 14, 2003 The early doodles were often simple but playful, like this mustachioed drawing of Albert Einstein to celebrate his birthday. Google  Nov. 14, 2001 Google's first doodler, Dennis Hwang, gave the logo an Impressionist look for Claude Monet's birthday. Google  Aug. 30, 1998 When employees left for the Burning Man festival, the Google logo became a cryptic BE BACK LATER sign. "There was no master plan for doodles at that point," says doodler-in-chief Ryan Germick. Google [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3752099/vernal-equinox-first-day-spring-google-doodle/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3752099/vernal-equinox-first-day-spring-google-doodle/"},"headline":"Vernal Equinox: New Google Doodle Celebrates First Day of Spring","datePublished":"2015-03-20T05:51:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:43:30.357Z","description":"A celestial trifecta welcomes in the change of seasons","url":"https://time.com/3752099/vernal-equinox-first-day-spring-google-doodle/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Internet","moon","Google Doodle","sun","norway","solar eclipse","supermoon"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcea76a44f56cd8c9/698784845f570f57ccb15d8f/unnamed.gif?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kevin McSpadden","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/kevin-mcspadden/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcea76a44f56cd8c9/698784845f570f57ccb15d8f/unnamed.gif?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"unnamed","caption":"","creditText":"Kirsten Lepore—Google","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3752099/vernal-equinox-first-day-spring-google-doodle/","name":"Vernal Equinox: New Google Doodle Celebrates First Day of Spring"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"How Google Makes its Doodles","description":"Our videographer went to the Googleplex in Mountain View, California to meet some of the designers and coders who create the special, clever variations on the Google.com logo known as","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/upF0qp1E/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2018-07-07T16:09:57.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/upF0qp1E.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3752099/vernal-equinox-first-day-spring-google-doodle/","duration":"PT3M23S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3752099/vernal-equinox-first-day-spring-google-doodle/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```