Yahoo Image Search (Fellowship of the Ring)
One thing I’ve learned in writing is that when you see a birthday scene, something BIG is about to happen. Whether it be Bilbo Baggins leaving the ring to Frodo or Harry Potter being told he’s a wizard, this event is always a precursor to major plot. You ever read a series and wonder why nobody celebrates their birthday? It’s because nothing major happens around that time besides cake, punches to the arm, and the internal realization that you have to reteach yourself the answer to ‘how old are you?’ I’m 2 days away from being 34 and I still forget to say I’m 33.
It’s rather easy to work in a birthday scene because it’s a time when you can have all the characters gathered without a long explanation. We’re here for a party! Simple. It makes a great backdrop for ominous events too because you get some extra impact. Very few people like to see a celebration interrupted, so you’ll get a little twist when the villains attack the party. Those that do enjoy such malicious behavior will get a joyous laugh that helps people around them know to keep small children away from them.
It’s easy to see why this is a popular scene too. We all have coming of age traditions and memories. Not all of them are religious too. You can get a learner’s permit at 16 and you can drink when you’re 21. Society functions off picking an age where you’re allowed to do things. Fiction simply takes it in the direction of you being at the age to go on a dangerous, epic adventure to save the world. It’s an easily understood and accepted point of change in a character’s life because we’ve all been there. Even in minor ways like the first birthday party you don’t have one of your grandparents. (First time I dealt with that was my Bar Mitzvah, so that one stands out for me.)
So, what do you think of birthdays in literature? Are you the type to see the scene coming and brace for plot impact?
Legends of Windemere 
I have seen in books birthdays mentioned in passing. I have also seen them as preludes to significant events. As a part of our every day lives and the celebrations of our culture I think they belong there. They are also good indicators of time passing.
Gosh. I am twenty years older than you. I could be your mother. You could be my son. (I would be a proud mother BTW) Why’d you have to go and spoil a perfectly good day (just kidding 😉 )
LikeLike
Eh, the day is still young and I’m betting you have better weather than I do. 😛
It’s interesting how important birthdays are in real life, but do get mentioned in passing a lot in literature. I wonder how many authors even have birthdays for their characters.
LikeLike
Mine do. Sybil did think about the significance of her son’s sixteenth birthday. Althea had a birthday party at a juke joint JUST BEFORE she was raped. So it was a lead in followed by tragedy or a big event. Age, and perhaps birthdays, may become significant in this book…don’t know yet.
LikeLike
Maybe it’s easier to add birthdays when writing an Earth-based story. In fantasy, we don’t typically have the same calendar. So you need to create one to some extent to give birthdays.
LikeLike
That’s something I never thought about. Birthdays could be based on other things also like the passing of different moons , specific constellations.
LikeLike
Harvests too. There could be a system where people get a new birthday at age 13 after a ceremony. One that connects to something about them.
LikeLike
Good observation! 🙂
LikeLike
Thanks. 🙂
LikeLike
That’s a good point, Charles. Birthdays are about fun and games, but as a reader you know it won’t last. The author is about to take everything you know so far and turn it upside down. It’s like a send off for the normal world before the character takes off on an unexpected journey.
LikeLike
Or it’s a break from the quest before the real mess begins. 😀
LikeLike
I like the big party scene. A lot can go on and many characters can interact with some interesting results. I think any excuse for a party is good.
LikeLike
Parties do make for great character interactions and growth.
LikeLike
Like anything else in a story, if it helps enhance the story a has some value then by all means include it, but if it is being used a filler then leave it out. Personally I don’t mind parties in literature, they are a great way to introduce new characters or just to show another side of an existing character.
LikeLike
I agree that filler is usually pointless. Though I know in TV shows, they might do something like this to give a ‘peaceful’ episode before the heavy stuff.
LikeLike
It is interesting that birthdays can have so much more significance than other milestones — graduations, for example. Perhaps it’s because, for so many centuries, one’s survival to any certain age was never guaranteed. People celebrate birthdays, particularly for kids, because it means the family and community are still alive. Not only the kid whose birthday it is, but the family and friends who gather around. “Another year, we’re all still alive!”
As you mention, though the party aspect will draw out a whole cast of characters that otherwise might have to be contrived in a less organic way. Weddings do the same — and remember, late in the Harry Potter books, there was a big set-to at a wedding, too.
LikeLike
Good point about the survival aspect. It also means a family’s lineage survives another year, which does have a natural, animal appeal to some.
I do see a lot of graduation scenes in stories. That tends to be a finale or a beginning though. One stage of life ends and another begins.
LikeLike