Google's Holiday Easter Eggs Will Spread The Cheer

Next time you're cruising the web or doing a bit of holiday shopping, you may notice something a little different about your browser: Top search engine Google has decorated a few of its results pages with some festive blink-and-you'll-miss-it features. These Google holiday Easter Eggs are sure to get even the Grinchiest among us into a celebratory spirit — and you guys? I mean it. They're absolutely delightful, and goodness knows we could all use a little lighthearted surprises full of good cheer right now.

For years, Google has been hiding entertaining Easter Eggs all over its services for attentive users to find. Some of these fun animations and games work year-round, while others are seasonally appropriate and only available for a limited time. On Google Hangouts, for example, certain key phrases will send adorable animated animals to liven up your chat (try "Happy New Year!!" and "WooHoo!!!"), while searching "atari breakout" on Google Images turns the entire page into a playable game.

However, the Google Homepage is where some of the best nerdy treats are hidden... if you just know where — or perhaps more accurately, how — to look.

The key, of course, is Googling things — because that's what Google is for, right? Typing "Flip a coin" into Google's search engine, for example, will produce a coin animation and give you an answer of "heads" or "tails," whereas the phrase "Roll a die" will conjur a number between one and six. Last year, Google added a new seasonal game of chance — "Spin the dreidel." Type those three words into the search bar, and an animated dreidel pops up as your first result.

But the holiday surprises don't stop there! As I recently discovered Google has jazzed up its search engine for the month of December with special holiday-themed searches. Simply enter the name of a winter holiday or characteristic in the search engine, and the header of the results page will be themed after that holiday. They have actually been doing this every December, so if you haven't noticed before, now's the time to check out this fun feature!

Here are the best Google holiday Easter Egg search words:

Christmas/Santa Claus/Xmas

Typing any of these Christmas-themed words into Google's search bar will produce a header overlay showing a snowy winter scene with evergreen trees, an animated Santa waving cheerfully from behind one of them. The phrase "Merry Christmas" will produce the same results; however "sad christmas" will not. Note: This animation will not appear for other Christmas-related words such as "mistletoe" or "reindeer."

Hanukkah/Dreidel/Menorah

Entering these Hanukkah-themed words into the search engine will bring up a dark blue background with a shining lit menorah, as well as silhouttes of dreidels and the Star of David. Spelling the holiday "Chanukah" will bring up the same results.

Kwanzaa

Enter the holiday "Kwanzaa" and Google's header will become a gold patterned background with a lit kinara.

Festivus

Seinfeld fans will appreciate this addition, which actually lasts year round: Type in the word "Festivus," and an aluminum Festivus pole will appear running down the left hand side of the page. This holiday season, get ready to air some grievances!

Images: Pixabay; Google (5)