Happy St. Patrick’s Day! On this day everybody becomes Irish. Even the search engines are Irish today. To celebrate the holiday, Google has “gone green” by posting a St. Patty’s Day Google Doodle in select countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Denmark, the UK, and Ireland.
The intricately detailed Google logo was inspired by the “Book of Kells,” an illuminated manuscript created by Celtic monks that contained the four Gospels of the New Testament.
As you might expect, [corned beef and cabbage] was a top trending Google search yesterday in the U.S., no doubt as people hunted down tasty St. Patrick’s Day recipes, perhaps to accompany some green beer? Leprechauns and shamrocks were among the rising search terms related to the holiday.
Ireland led the world on searches for [st patricks day] this year, followed by New Zealand, the U.S., Australia, and Canada, according to Google Insights for Search. The city with the most searches was Dublin, Ireland, followed by Boston, Mass., Washington, D.C., Chicago, and New York City.
Last year was the first time since 2003 that Google didn’t post a St. Patrick’s Day Doodle for the U.S. to enjoy, and there was never a clear explanation of why. But those celebrating the holiday today no doubt are happy to see the Doodle return to Google’s U.S. homepage.