Birthday.

Another year, another year.

My birthday is in a few days.

How did this get here??

This got me thinking about birthdays in media and their significance.

In writing, birthdays can mean that a character is growing up, like in Scott Pilgrim. Once Scott turns 24, he gets a job, which is also a symbol of growing up.

A birthday could mean two warring factions putting differences aside to celebrate the birth of a Promised (or Chosen) One.

A birthday could also just be another day of the year, like Christmas in Diehard.

Personally, my birthday is the last option. I don't like celebrating it. Everyone asks me why.
I simply don't enjoy celebrating something just for me. It makes me feel selfish.

Anyway, back to writing.
There are a lot of Coming-of-age stories; Harry Potter is one of them.

Basically starting out as a neglected orphan with no purpose, Harry becomes the most powerful wizard in all of Hyrule (or something. I never watched the movies) after learning spells, incantations, and how to play chess with magic to defeat some weird guy without a nose.

Artists interpretation of the final battle

Anything showing a younger person learning a lesson about growing up, being a person with a purpose...those are coming-of-age stories. These are not necessarily birthday stories.

Sometimes, birthdays are the whole plot.
Planning a party, keeping small secrets, stuff like that. I don't see this used a lot in written stories, but I do see it in TV shows as a one-off episode.
The one that comes to mind is in the Middle, when the mom, Frankie, is all excited for her birthday and the only thing she wants is a yellow foot bath.

Her family doesn't really listen. All they heard was "yellow"
So, they go shopping the day prior to her birthday, because everyone forgets. Mike, Frankie's husband, is basically panicking trying to remember what she wanted while Brick, their son, finds the thing she wants. Mike says "Naw, you're mom's not like that. She wouldn't want that"
They instead buy her yellow pants.

She is, needless to say, disappointed.

Many pieces that do this sort of "plot twist" lead the lesson of "It's the thought that counts"

Symbolically, birthdays are great to use to show a character moving from one stage to another. Almost as a "rebirth" of sorts.

It always ends up being happy, and mushy, and soft, like "here's a buncha stuff, glad to have you aroiund. Way to last another year without dying"

YOU DID IT, YOU WHITE PIECE OF  HOT GARBAGE

Death, however, is the fun one. But, we'll get to that another time.
I hope you all have happy birthdays. Here's to another year!!