Jan 22, 2023
Lunar New Year 2023 (Vietnam)
This Doodle’s Key Themes
Today’s Doodle celebrates an important festival in Vietnam – Lunar New Year! Known as Tet in Vietnamese, this holiday is celebrated by communities each year during Tet festival, people often travel to the homes of their extended families and bring in the new year with feasts.
Tet festival is traditionally celebrated across three days to spend time connecting with friends and colleagues and visiting temples and ancestral burial sights. During family feasts, people typically eat vegetables, banh chung (sticky rice cake), and cu kieu (pickled scallion).
The colors red and yellow are tied to good fortune, and Vietnamese people give money in red envelopes to children and retired seniors. It’s also a tradition to decorate the outside of homes with flowers — most commonly hoa dao (cherry blossoms) in the north and hoa mai (yellow Mai flower) in the south.
This year marks the Year of the Cat, which is associated with prosperity, cleverness, and skillfulness. The Doodle artwork is crafted from paper to honor the paper folding & cutting art traditionally practiced during Lunar New Year.
Happy Lunar New Year, Vietnam!
Check out the behind-the-scenes process for
today’s Doodle artwork by Doodler, Celine You
Early sketch of Doodle
Paper cut out of Doodle
Painted paper cut out of Doodle
Where this Doodle appeared
Discover more Doodles by color
Did you know?
The very first Doodle launched as an “out of office” message of sorts when company founders Larry and Sergey went on vacation.
Learn MoreDid you know?
The first Doodle launched in 1998, before Google was officially incorporated.
Learn MoreDid you know?
The first same day Doodle was created in 2009 when water was discovered on the moon.
Learn MoreDid you know?
Doodle for Google student contest winners have gone on to become professional artists
Learn MoreDid you know?
The time it takes from sketch to launch for a Doodle varies widely: some have taken years and others just a few hours!
Learn MoreDid you know?
Hundreds of Doodles launch around the world every year. Often, several different ones are live in different places at the same time!
Learn MoreDid you know?
Our most frequently recurring Doodle character is Momo the Cat - named after a real-life team pet!
Learn More