Google Doodle celebrates ‘out of this world’ love on Valentine’s Day

For Valentine’s Day, Google is celebrating love — whether its close by or light years away.

The Valentine’s Day Google Doodle, the tech pioneer’s creative use of its homepage, shows a GIF of two extraterrestrial beings both seemingly navigating the switchboards in an aircraft out of space. The destination is where love may lie.

“No matter where you are in the universe today, love is in the air,” reads a Google statement about the doodle. “Whether your loved ones are light-years away, or nearby, we hope no amount of space gets in the way of letting them know you’re over the moon for them.”

As an interactive element of the doodle, users can send GIFs to their special someone by searching  #ValentinesDoodle on Gboard, GIF Keyboard by Tenor or using your GIF search in any social app.

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More on Valentine’s Day

The history of the patron St. Valentine and his ties to Valentine’s Day remain a bit murky, but there are a few stories that have been passed down through generations.

One of those is that a man named Valentinus was martyred on Feb. 14, late in the third century A.D., but the Catholic Encyclopedia states that "at least three different Saint Valentines, all of them martyrs, are mentioned in the early martyrologies under the date of 14 February."

There’s also a St. Valentine, a temple priest recognized by the Roman Catholic Church. This saint was actually beheaded on Feb. 14 around A.D. 270, because he was helping Christian couples wed.

Whatever the story, the day has been celebrated for generations by sending messages of love and affection to partners, family and friends.

Here are some of the ways folks have spread love on Twitter today: