Doodle 4 Google: January 2010

Tapati Rapa Nui Festival

Source: http://www.google.com/logos/tapati_rapa_nui10-hp.jpg

Easter Island's Tapati Festival is a mix of carnival type activities, sports, theatrical presentations and homage to the island, also known as Rapa Nui.

Celebrated annually during summer, the festival covers several weeks at the end of January and into February. At this time, the island receives thousands of visitors who flood the hotels and other lodging places. Some islanders rent out their homes for the duration.

The island sporting competitions are based on ancient sports, such as sliding down a cliff on a banana tree in haka pei competition. The person who stays on the log longest wins. Another popular event includes swimming, oaring across the lake at Rano Raraku in a reed tortora raft and then racing around the lake balancing banana bunches over the shoulders.

Dance competitions for all ages, parades with floats and costumed figures, and the crowning of the queen of the festival are highlights of the celebrations.

The festival began to celebrate the 1963 passing of Ley Pascua, allowing the residents of Isla de Pascua, or Easter Island, to vote in the Chilean presidential elections.

The festival activities expanded to include the celebration of Rapa Nui heritage with feasts, music, dance and fireworks.

If you want to attend the Tapati festival, make your reseervations far in advance.

150th Anniversary of Anton Chekhov's Birthday

Source: http://www.google.com/logos/chekhov2010-hp.gif

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (Russian: Антон Павлович Чехов, pronounced [ɐnˈton ˈpavləvʲɪtɕ ˈtɕɛxəf]; 29 January [O.S. 17 January] 1860 – 15 July [O.S. 2 July] 1904) was a Russian short-story writer, playwright and physician, considered to be one of the greatest short-story writers in the history of world literature. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics. Chekhov practised as a doctor throughout most of his literary career: "Medicine is my lawful wife", he once said, "and literature is my mistress." [Read more on Wikipedia]

Australia Day

Source: http://www.google.com/logos/d4g_au-2010-hp.gif

Republic Day of India

Source: http://www.google.com/logos/indiarepublic10hp.gif

The Republic Day of India commemorates the date on which the Constitution of India came into force replacing the Government of India Act 1935 as the governing document of India on 26 January 1950. The date 26 January was chosen to honour the memory of the declaration of independence of 1930. It is one of the three national holidays in India, and while the main parade, Republic Day Parade takes place at the Rajpath, in the national capital New Delhi, where the President views the parade, state capitals also have their state celebrations. [Read more on Wikipedia]

Happy Australia Day!

Watching fireworks burst over the Harbour Bridge in Sydney? Having a barbecue with your friends and family in Perth? Today people are gathering all over Australia to celebrate Australia Day, one of the country's largest national celebrations.

Not to be left out of the fun, the orkut team created a special doodle to commemorate the occasion:

Orkut's 6th birthday!

It may not have popped up in your birthdays list, but today is orkut's big day: the site is now 6 years old! To celebrate the day, you might have noticed that they created a special doodle:

100th Anniversary of Django Reinhard's Birthday

Source: http://www.google.com/logos/djangoreinhardt10.gif

Jean "Django" Reinhardt (French pronunciation: [dʒɑ̃ɡo ʁenɑʁt]; 23 January 1910 - 16 May 1953) was a Gypsy jazz guitarist.

One of the first prominent European jazz musicians, Reinhardt remains one of the most renowned jazz guitarists. With violinist Stéphane Grappelli, he cofounded the Quintette du Hot Club de France, described by critic Thom Jurek as "one of the most original bands in the history of recorded jazz." Reinhardt's most popular compositions have become jazz standards, including "Minor Swing", "Daphne", "Belleville", "Djangology", "Swing '42" and "Nuages" (French for "Clouds"). [Read more on Wikipedia]

The San Sebastián International Film Festival (Spanish: Festival Internacional de Cine de San Sebastián; Basque: Donostiako Zinemaldia) is an annual FIAPF A category film festival held in the Spanish city of San Sebastián (officially Donostia-San Sebastián). [Read more on Wikipedia]

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Day

Source: http://www.google.com/logos/mlk2010.gif

Istanbul, Capital of Culture

Source: http://www.google.com/logos/istanbul10-hp.gif

Each year, cities chosen as European Capitals of Culture – in 2010 Essen, Istanbul and Pecs – provide living proof of the richness and diversity of European cultures. Started in 1985, the initiative has become one of the most prestigious and high-profile cultural events in Europe.

More than 40 cities have been designated European Capitals of Culture so far, from Stockholm to Genoa, Athens to Glasgow, and Cracow to Porto.

A city is not chosen as a European Capital of Culture solely for what it is, but mainly for what it plans to do for a year that has to be exceptional. Its programme for the year must meet some specific criteria.

Celebration of Chinese Culture

Source: http://www.google.com/logos/chinainventions10-hp.gif

Festival of Kites

Source: http://www.google.com/logos/kitefestival2009-hp.gif

The Indian festival of Makar Sankranti is devoted to kite fighting in some states. This spring festival is celebrated every January 15, with millions of people flying kites all over northern India. The states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Gujarat, some part of West Bengal, Rajasthan, Punjab and the cities of Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Jaipur, Dhanbad, Varansi and Hyderabad are particularly notable for their kite fighting festivals. Kite flying in Hyderabad starts a month before the official kite flying festival (Sankranthi). The thread used to fly kites in Hyderabad is known as 'Manjaa'. Highly maneuverable single-string paper and bamboo kites are flown from the rooftops while using line friction in an attempt to cut each other's kite lines, either by letting the line loose at high speed or by pulling the line in a fast and repeated manner. In some Indian cities kite flying/fighting is an important part of other celebrations, including Republic Day, Independence Day, Raksha Bandhan, and Janmashtami. An international kite festival is held every year before Uttarayan for three days in Vadodara, Surat and Ahmedabad. These three cities are the main sites where kite flying is observed on 14 and 15 January every year. The 14th known as 'Uttarayan' and 15th known as 'Vasi Uttarayan'. People start flying kites early in the morning and continue until the evening. Playing music to accompany kite-flying is a common sight. The kite is known as 'Patang' in Gujarat and other places in India. People start preparations before 15 days ahead to buy kites and cords for their kites.

Coming of Age Day

Source: http://www.google.com/logos/comingofage10-hp.gif

Coming of Age Day (成人の日 Seijin no Hi) is a Japanese holiday held annually on the second Monday of January. It is held in order to congratulate and encourage all those who have reached the age of majority (20 years old (二十歳 hatachi) over the past year, and to help them realize that they have become adults. Festivities include coming of age ceremonies (成人式 seijin-shiki) held at local and prefectural offices, as well as after-parties amongst family and friends. [Read more on Wikipedia]

120th Birthday of Karel Capek

Source: http://www.google.com/logos/karelcapek10-hp.gif

Karel Čapek (Czech pronunciation: [ˈkarɛl ˈtʃapɛk] (January 9, 1890 – December 25, 1938) was one of the most influential Czech writers of the 20th century. [Read more on Wikipedia]

Sir Isaac Newton's Birthday

Google is honoring Sir Isaac Newton with it's first animated logo design on the English scientist and thinker's birthday. Newton was born 367 years ago, January 4, 1643.

The design, on Google's main search page today features a branch of apples. After a second or two, one falls off the branch and onto Google's white background, a nod to Newton's fabled discovery of the law of gravity.

Visit the site to see the animation in action, or watch the video below.

Sir Isaac Newton FRS (4 January 1643 – 31 March 1727 [OS: 25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726]) was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian who is considered by many scholars and members of the general public to be one of the most influential people in human history. His 1687 publication of the Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (usually called the Principia) is considered to be among the most influential books in the history of science, laying the groundwork for most of classical mechanics. In this work, Newton described universal gravitation and the three laws of motion which dominated the scientific view of the physical universe for the next three centuries. Newton showed that the motions of objects on Earth and of celestial bodies are governed by the same set of natural laws by demonstrating the consistency between Kepler's laws of planetary motion and his theory of gravitation, thus removing the last doubts about heliocentrism and advancing the Scientific Revolution.

Newton built the first practical reflecting telescope and developed a theory of colour based on the observation that a prism decomposes white light into the many colours that form the visible spectrum. He also formulated an empirical law of cooling and studied the speed of sound.

In mathematics, Newton shares the credit with Gottfried Leibniz for the development of the differential and integral calculus. He also demonstrated the generalised binomial theorem, developed Newton's method for approximating the roots of a function, and contributed to the study of power series.

Newton was also highly religious, though an unorthodox Christian, writing more on Biblical hermeneutics and occult studies than the natural science for which he is remembered today. [Read more on Wikipedia]

Godfrey Kneller's 1689 portrait of Isaac Newton(age 46)

Birthday of Sir Isaac Newton

Google logo - Birthday of Sir Isaac Newton

Sir Isaac Newton FRS (4 January 1643 – 31 March 1727 [OS: 25 December 1642 – 20 March 1727]) was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian who is perceived and considered by a substantial number of scholars and the general public as one of the most influential scientists in history. His 1687 publication of the Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (usually called the Principia) is considered to be among the most influential books in the history of science, laying the groundwork for most of classical mechanics. In this work, Newton described universal gravitation and the three laws of motion which dominated the scientific view of the physical universe for the next three centuries. Newton showed that the motions of objects on Earth and of celestial bodies are governed by the same set of natural laws by demonstrating the consistency between Kepler's laws of planetary motion and his theory of gravitation, thus removing the last doubts about heliocentrism and advancing the scientific revolution.

via wikipedia

Happy New Year

Source: http://www.google.com/logos/newyears10.gif

Happy New Year!

As you head out to celebrate the new year with your friends and family, don't forget to check out the orkut doodle that we've created in honor of the date:

Doodle 4 Google