Google have marked the eve of the Chinese new year with a celebratory doodle featuring a rocking horse and Chinese lanterns.

The year of the horse begins on Friday 31 January 2014 as the year of the snake comes to an end. The Chinese new year is also the beginning of the lunar year and begins on a different year every day.

Celebrations, which include lion dances, gift exchanges and feasting, last for 15 days and take place in all parts of the Chinese diaspora.

In London, the new year will be marked when the London Eye is lit red although the main celebrations will take place on 2 February. On Sunday, a parade will begin at 10am and pass along Charing Cross Road and Shaftesbury Avenue before arriving in Chinatown. Dozens of activities will take place in Trafalgar Square and Chinatown throughout the day.

In China, celebrations vary widely but most involve the reunion of families, the cleaning of homes for the new year and a profusion of red decorations and dress. Gifts are often given in red envelopes.

The Chinese calendar does not use numbered years but some scholars date it from the third millennium BC. According to different opinions, this year of the horse is 4712, 4711 or 4651.