Harry Potter fans celebrated their favorite wizard's birthday yesterday with tweets, memes and iconic movie moments.
In the Harry Potter books, the title character's birthday is July 31st, 1980. That means that Potter celebrated his 41st birthday yesterday - and fans on Twitter celebrated him, too, by posting about some of their favorite movie moments, memes and more.
Many fans posted a photo of the cake given to Harry by Hagrid during their first meeting. The cake is notable for its spelling errors on the words "happy" and "birthday."
Some reflected on how Harry physically changed over the years.
Some posted their favorite Harry Potter quotes:
Others posted about their favorite movie in the series and iconic movie moments:
Some of the best tweets were memes related to Harry Potter:
The first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, was released in June 1997. It marked the start of a pop culture phenomenon unlike any other. J.K. Rowling went on to write six other books in the original series and altogether, the books have sold more than 500 million copies worldwide.
Harry Potter is the best-selling book series of all time, and Potter fans, dubbed Potterheads, are always found celebrating its anniversaries and its characters' birthday. However, this year, a lot fewer fans are celebrating due to the controversy surrounding author J.K. Rowling.
The author got herself into hot water over her tweets and social media posts last year, which many viewed as transphobic. It all started on Twitter, where she posted a link to a shop which sells anti-transgender badges. When she received pushback from users, she doubled down, tweeting about "erasing the concept of [biological] sex." She has since even gone so far as to writ personal essays about the subject.
Although Rowling may be "cancelled" to some, many still keep her characters and her work alive in their hearts due to the nostalgia, and the impact it has had on society and readers, especially to those who read the books as children.
If you'd like to watch any of the Harry Potter movies this weekend to celebrate, they're all currently available on Peacock.