Google welcomes the spring and fall equinox with new Doodles

March 20 (UPI) -- Google is celebrating the arrival of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and fall in the Southern Hemisphere with new Doodles.

For users living north of the equator, Google's homepage features an animated short starring a mouse waking up to grab a yellow flower from outside to display inside his underground home.

For those living south of the equator, Google's homepage display's a similar animated short with the mouse now venturing outside to jump into a pile of leaves before returning home to enjoy a warm cup of tea.

"The word equinox comes from the Latin for equal and night. Almost everywhere in the world today, nighttime and daytime are each 12 hours," Google writes.

"We use the equinox to mark the change of seasons, as the balance of light shifts to make for longer days or nights. It usually means that it's time to hunker down for colder seasons, or time to rise and shine for warmer ones, as in the case of our furry friend the mouse!" Google said, noting how during the equinox the sun rises directly in the east and sets directly in the west.