Google celebrates leftist leader Cesar Chavez, not Easter, on religious holiday as some Christians call for boycott



Conservative groups are calling for a boycott of the ubiquitous search giant in favor of others, like Microsoft's Bing



March 31 became Cesar Chavez Day by official Obama proclamation in 2011 and Google honored him this year with a 'Google Doodle'



Google hasn't had a Doodle for the Easter holiday since 2000 and has never posted one specifically honoring Christmas or any other religious observance

The internet is alight today with stories of faith, confections, and one very famous egg roll, but the biggest web destination of them all has opted to honor a leftist labor activist instead of the Easter holiday.



Several times per year, and sometimes per month, internet search behemoth Google shakes things up on its incredibly high-traffic homepage by changing its logo to celebrate a memorable day in history like a famous person’s birthday or world-changing event.



This past February 6, for instance, the company honored what would have been famed anthropologist Mary Leakey’s 100th birthday.



Earlier in the year, Google gave nods to the birthdays of baseball legend Jackie Robinson, Dr. Martin Luther King, and, true to the company’s quirky form, pioneering ice resurfacer Frank Zamboni.

Daring doodle: Some Christians are angry Google honored labor activist Cesar Chavez in Easter Sunday's Google Doodle instead of their holiday The ‘Google Doodles’ began as a way for Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin to leave a sort of ‘Out of the Office’ message when they placed a stick figure within their logo before taking off for Nevada’s Burning Man festival in 1998.



Since then, the Doodle has grown in frequency and popularity and become a fun way to learn about history, world-changing events like the fall of the Berlin Wall, and about famous scientific innovations like the Hubble Telescope.

As with Dr. Martin Luther King’s Doodle, Google has remained dedicated over the years to celebrating important social figures in their Doodles.



Today , that tradition continued.

Biased? Some believe Google is disrespecting Christians by not recognizing the Easter holiday while honoring a celebrated labor leader

Important figures: Google tends to honor ground-breaking figures and scientific milestones on its altered homepage

In celebration of labor activist and United Farm Workers co-founder Cesar Chavez, Google changed one of the O’s in its logo to a portrait of the legendary organizer.



The decision to honor Chavez on this particular day has some perplexed and others angry.



It may be Chavez’s birthday, but it also happens to be Easter Sunday.



Fox News Radio personality Todd Starnes took to his webpage to air his grievances.



‘Christians across the nation are outraged after Google decided to honor labor leader Cesar Chavez’s birthday instead of Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday,’ Starnes wrote.



Alongside his complaints, Starnes posted an excerpt of the declaration from President Obama designation of March 31 as Cesar Chavez Day.



Starnes also posted comments sent in by his readers, many of them urging a Christian boycott of Google.



‘Goodbye Google, hello Bing,’ wrote one Starnes reader, referencing Microsoft’s competing search engine.

Inclusive: Google has never mentioned Christmas in its Doodles, preferring more general 'Happy Holidays' well-wishing

Like Starnes’ page, former television personality Glen Beck’s outlet The Blaze also suggests that Christians are furious with Google. As evidence, both The Blaze and Todd Starnes link to a list of angry tweets on the issue compiled at website Twitchy .



In 2013, the Christian celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ happens to coincide with what Obama declared Cesar Chavez Day back in 2011.



Instead of honoring the over 2000-year-old Christian holiday, the Silicon Valley titan threw its weight behind a leftist activist.



Some may view this as evidence that Golden State liberalism allows political values to trump religious ones.



However, taking a look back at Google Doodles from the past 15 or so years reveals some patterns that might get Google’s head off the naughty lists of the faithful.

For starters, Easter changes dates every year and Cesar Chavez Day does not. The two coincided this year and will do so again in future years.



The next will be 2024, followed by 2086, and again in 2097 and in 2176.



For the folks upset with Google today who are still around in 2024 and hoping for an Easter Doodle, be aware of another fact:

Google hasn’t had an Easter Doodle since 2000. They never had one before and they have not had one since.



In fact, the company that many would argue is largely apolitical seems also to be largely areligious. At least if its Doodles are any indication.



Secular celebrations Earth Day, Halloween, and Thanksgiving are Doodle mainstays, but come Christmas time the holiday shoutouts on the Google homepage became decidedly more generic.



Back in 1998, Google only had three Doodles and none of them celebrated Christmas. There was a Thanksgiving Doodle, a introduction of Google Beta, and the Burning Man Doodle.

Light-hearted: Heros and beloved personalities alike can become Doodles, as Julia Child did for what would have been her 100th birthday in 2012

In 1999, the company began posting ‘Happy Holidays’ Doodles around Christmas but has never specifically referenced the Christian celebration. They tend, instead, to celebrate winter and the spirit of the holidays in general.

And, oddly enough, 2006’s holiday Doodles also celebrated Kangaroos .



The point seems to be that Google is not interested in celebrating the holidays of any specific religion, at all.



Just as there are no Christian holidays, there are no Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Zoroastrian, Baha’I, or any other religious celebrations honored with Google Doodles.



Whether this is because there are so many, because the company wants to avoid placing one faith over another, or because they simply prefer not to just because is unclear.

Once: Google posted an Easter Doodle only once, in 2000. Not before or since has their Doodle recognized any religious holiday

To the credit of those angry at Google’s decision today, Google has never before posted any Doodle whatsoever on Easter Sunday.

Then again, Cesar Chavez Day has never, in its three-year history, fallen on Easter.



To put things in perspective, Google has posted Doodles with no religious significance during sacred holidays before.



During Passover in 2012, Google honored the 100th birthday of a French photographer named Robert Doisneau but not the Jewish holiday.



The Muslim holiday of Ramadan coincided with the Olympic Games in 2012 and Google honored 17 sports events with Doodles, as well as the birthdays of chef Julia Child, pilot Amelia Earhart, and artist Gustav Klimt, but made no mention of the holy month of fasting.

