The acknowledgement of miscellaneous (but relevant) holidays, people, places, and facts is an art perfected by the Google homepage. Over the course of the year, Google Doodles remind Googlers of everything from quantum mechanics physicists to Mexican folk dancers. And while today is not technically a holiday, it is the Winter Solstice for the Northern Hemisphere, and Google’s Doodle did not forget to tell us.
The animation on the site’s homepage showcases a scarf-clad snuggly mouse trekking out of his underground home to frolic in the snow outside, subsequently turning into a mouse-shaped snowman before quickly going back to his cozy home.
And there is topical importance to this animation. Today at 11:28 a.m., the sun hit its lowest point — meaning that today will be the shortest day of the year and the longest night of the year, with the sun going down at approximately 4:32 p.m. So if today feels a little darker than usual, that’s because it is.
In honor of the winter solstice I also will be cold, distant & filled with darkness.
— Doth (@DothTheDoth) December 21, 2017
Astrologists say that today’s winter solstice could be the worst day astrologically, as the sun passes over Capricorn, causing easy tasks to feel harder and annoyances to seem larger. So maybe today, we should all take our cues from the mouse, and opt for warm inside settings, rather than the bleaker outside world.