Today’s Google doodle marks the start of Holi, the Hindu holiday signaling the end of winter and [insert great sigh of relief] beginning of Spring.

Traditional Indian Holi festivals are centered around communities coming together to play music and dance while covering their landscape with vivid colored powder and water. Google’s Holi doodle borrows from the company’s own brand colors to depict these celebrations and highlights the dhol players often connected to the holiday. (Dhols are the traditional wooden barrel drums from South Asia.)

From the Google Doodle Blog:

These traditional drummers move from house to house, adding a peppy, musical touch to the day’s festivities. The four main powder colors carry with them a piece of symbolism. Red signifies love and fertility; yellow is the color of turmeric, a natural remedy; blue represents the beloved Krishna; green symbolizes spring and new beginnings.

The image was created by guest doodler Amrita Marino and leads to a search for “Holi.” Here’s the full image of today’s Holi doodle, along with early drafts of the illustration shared by Google:

Holi 2018 Google Doodle

Early Drafts of the Holi Doodle

Born in Calcutta, India, Marino is a Brookly-based graphic designer and illustrator whose artwork has appeared in a number of publications, including The New York Times, Lenny Letter, Martha Stewart Magazine and Dwell.

About The Author

Amy Gesenhues is Third Door Media’s General Assignment Reporter, covering the latest news and updates for Search Engine Land and Marketing Land. From 2009 to 2012, she was an award-winning syndicated columnist for a number of daily newspapers from New York to Texas. With more than ten years of marketing management experience, she has contributed to a variety of traditional and online publications, including MarketingProfs.com, SoftwareCEO.com, and Sales and Marketing Management Magazine. Read more of Amy’s articles.

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