From celebrating Christmas to Louisa May Alcott’s birthday – what is the history of the Google Doodle?

AS many of you will have noticed, Google often change their logo in celebration of a holiday, anniversary or in memory of a famous figure - but why?

Google Doodles has become a popular feature over the years but when did it start and what is the history behind it - here's everything you need to know.

What is the history of Google Doodles?

In 1998, the search engine founders Larry and Sergey drew a stick figure behind the second 'o' of Google as a message to that they were out of office at the Burning Man festival and with that, Google Doodles were born.

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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.

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After spending the next two years playing around with the homepage designs, Larry and Sergey appointed Dennis Hwang and he became chief doodler for the company.

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.

What are the best Christmas Doodles?

Google come into their own over the holiday period with their innovative designs to celebrate Christmas.

Check out these three best Christmas Doodles;

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How many Google Doodles have there been over the years?

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Since the first Google Doodle in 1998 there have been over 2,000 doodles on the Google homepage around the world, including an animated one to celebrate the company's 18th birthday.

And the idea for a doodle comes from both Google employees and users, so if you have an idea for the homepage you can submit it to [email protected].

Here are some of the most memorable Google Doodles over the years:

The Burning Man: August 30, 1998

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This was the first ever Google Doodle, designed by founders Larry and Sergey to let users know they were out of office.

Dennis Hwang "It shows the Burning Man symbol, the annual alternative festival, which they like to go to whenever they can.

"They wanted to let the early Google search engine users know that the site would be running unattended while they were there."

DNA: April 25, 2003

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It was the 50th anniversary of the discovery of DNA in 2003 and to celebrate Google replaced the two 'o's with a double helix.

"Because we like to associate our brand with discovery and technology, it was a natural fit to do this for the 50th anniversary of Dr. James Watson discovering the structure of DNA," says Dennis.

Valentine's Day: February 14, 2007

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Each year, to celebrate St. Valentine's, Google add a romantically themed doodle to the logo but in 2007 their drawing was slightly confusing.

"It was a design decision," says Dennis "to have the strawberry represent the G and the stem represent the L. But I guess the stem was too short and people didn't make the connection."

LEGO anniversary January 28, 2008

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When Google was starting out Larry and Sergey used to build their hard drive enclosures out of LEGO so it was only right for them to celebrate the company's 50th anniversary with a doodle.

"We actually poured a bunch of LEGOs on the floor and built the logo out of LEGO in real life to figure out how to illustrate it correctly," recalls Dennis.

Isaac Newton's Birthday January 4, 2010

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Famous figure's birthdays are often celebrated with Google Doodles and in 2010, but Sir Isaac Newton's doodle was extra special as it was the first animated one the company had done.

"It's based on the famous story on how Newton came up with the theory of gravity—that was inspired by an apple falling," says Dennis.

In the years after that first animation, Google has come a long way with their doodles and now some even allow you to interact, including the recent Paralympics one.

Paralympians: September 7, 2016:

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The colourful moving animation shows athletes taking part in various sports including weightlifting and swimming to mark the start of the Rio Paralympics.

Louisa May Alcott's 184th birthday: November 29, 2016:

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Find the Google word in this Doodle to celebrate Louisa May Alcott's 184th birthday in November 2016.

Based on her most famous novel, Little Women, the graphic portrays Beth, Jo, Amy and Meg March as well as Jo's best friend Laurie.

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