Google celebrates Portugal National Day with a special doodle. Details here

Google has released a special doodle to celebrate Portugal Day, which falls on 10 June each year. Interestingly, Portugal Day is not the day Portugal gained independence from Spain, but is celebrated to commemorate the death of the country's national poet, Luís de Camões.

According to Brittanica, Camões had a " permanent " influence on Portuguese and Brazilian literature through his lyrical poetry. He is also famous for the poem Os Lusíadas, which describes Vasco da Gama's journey to discover the sea route to India.

In a blog post about the new doodle, Google said: “Today’s Doodle celebrates Portugal Day, known officially as Dia de Camões, de Portugal e das Comunidades Portuguesas (Day of Camões, Portugal, and the Portuguese Communities). Portugal observes National Day not on the day it declared independence from Spain, but instead on a day that honors an influential Portuguese poet, Luís de Camões. In honor of the country, traditional Portuguese tiles are featured in today's Doodle artwork.”

Commenting on Os Lusíadas, Google said: “His (Luís de Camões) epic poem, Os Lusíadas (The Lusiads), is considered a paramount work of literature and describes Portuguese voyages and explorations during the 15th and 16th centuries. Legend has it that on one of Camões’s own adventures, a ship sank and he swam one-handed to shore, holding the poem above the water with his other hand.”

The tech giant also noted that the first celebration of Portugal Day took place in 1880, and that it became a national holiday in 1919. Giving an insight into the Portugal Day celebrations, Google said that the festivities are held in many different Portuguese cities each year. These celebrations include parades of marching bands, baton twirlers and military troops.