Happy 51st Birthday, J.K. Rowling. Happy 36th, Harry Potter!

Jul 31, 2016

Posted by: Emma Pocock

Birthdays, Character Birthdays, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, J.K. Rowling, News, Pottermore

Not only are we celebrating the release of the eighth story, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, but today also marks two very special birthdays in the muggle and wizarding worlds: It’s J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter’s birthdays, of course!

Cursed Child celebrations went on through the night, just like old times. Pottermore covered the midnight celebrations from Barnes & Noble in New York:

Waterstones Piccadilly in London also joined in the huge celebrations, showing off Hagrid’s motorbike and sidecar in store, courtesy of Warner Bros, and some amazing wizard shops:

At midnight, the attention turned to the reason we were all celebrating across the world. J.K. Rowling has taken her stories not only across continents, but across a huge variety of medium. Reaching people by page, by screen, through the internet and on stage, she wasn’t exaggerating when she said:

“Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home.”

It was only fitting, therefore, that she got a birthday cake that matched the beauty of her story – an amazing recreation of King’s Cross, where the journey to Hogwarts for Harry begins, also suggested by Set Designer Christine Jones to have an important part to play in Cursed Child:

‘Few buildings are vast enough to hold the sound of time… there was a superb fitness in the fact that the one which held it better than all others should be a railroad station.’

 

Few are gifted with such incredible power of expression as J.K. Rowling, so to celebrate her 51st birthday, and Harry’s  36th birthday, IB Times collected 36 quotes from her stories. Entertainment also joined in, collecting photos of Harry Potter stars in their first and final performances.

 TIME also explained why 2016 is their biggest birthday yet – thanks to Cursed Child, the power of Harry’s story lives on:

“For some, the date is a pleasant and nostalgic reminder of Harry’s first birthday in the series, when Hagrid brought Harry a cake on the same night he told the boy wizard that he was capable of magic.

For others, though, July 31 is not just a nod back to the beginning of the series but a way to continue celebrating Harry as if he, and his birthday, were real.

‘The Boy Who Lived’ is the first chapter of the Potter series, wherein readers meet Harry as a newborn shortly after surviving a killing curse. Harry survived this, and other battles, despite the odds stacked against him. It seems that this July 31, he’ll simply start doing it again, reminding Potter fans and critics alike why he’ll forever be The Boy Who Lived.”

J.K. Rowling was also named one of 2016’s “Outstanding Women of Scotland” just before her birthday. The Bookseller explains:

“Created in partnership with Glasgow Women’s Library, the “Outstanding Women of Scotland” community aims to recognise and celebrate remarkable Scottish women from all walks of life who have made an outstanding contribution to Scottish society.”

Motto collected 10 inspirational quotes from J.K. Rowling to remind us all how much wisdom she has to offer – on happiness, failure, courage, depression and many other areas of life where we may struggle, she’s always been there to guide us:

On the future: We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better. (via ‘The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination‘)

Harry Potter’s story continues with Cursed Child, however J.K. Rowling has said that his story has come to a close:

“He goes on a very big journey during these two plays and then, yeah, I think we’re done. This is the next generation, you know,” said Rowling, who later appeared on stage during a standing ovation at the end of the show. “So, I’m thrilled to see it realized so beautifully but, no, Harry is done now.”

Harry is 36 today: head Auror under Kingsley Shakelbolt, husband to Ginny Weasley and father of James Sirius, Albus Severus and Lily Luna, Harry is a true hero of the wizarding world.

He reminds us to keep faith, to fight for goodness no matter the odds, to value friendship, love and loyalty, and to learn from the people you admire and respect.

At GeekyCon this weekend, stories like Harry’s have been bringing people together to celebrate their love for good things, to get excited about a book, to sing The Weapon We Have Is Love together and then cry about how powerful love is, because as Potter fans, we’ve learnt to value love above all else.

At Leavesden Studios, at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, at bookstores, book clubs, museums, running clubs, charities and online forums – it’s stories like Harry’s that rock the world, materialise in beautiful ways and change lives for the better, teaching us to come together in a world that may seem dark, to bring goodness to the people that mean most to us, and to be the best parts of ourselves we can be.

We hope you’ve all enjoyed celebrating Cursed Child, and hope that you all have the energy to throw your own Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling birthday parties after most likely staying up reading all night.

Please join us in saying a very happy birthday to both J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter, and share with us how you’ve been celebrating!





The Leaky Cauldron is not associated with J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros., or any of the individuals or companies associated with producing and publishing Harry Potter books and films.