I’m sure there’s someone somewhere saying “celebrating a fictional character’s birthday is weird” but frankly, I don’t care. When a character is important to you, any excuse to celebrate their “existence” is welcome, and what better excuse than a birthday?
Research is on my side. We don’t just develop “parasocial relationships” with real people who happen to be celebrities – we also develop them with our favorite fictional characters. Spending time “with” those beloved characters feels as good as hanging out with our closest friends and family; our brains don’t distinguish that familiar face being on a screen instead of two feet away. That explains why I miss Dean Winchester so much, and why doing a Supernatural rewatch always makes me feel happy, content and just a little bit safer in the world.
Know what feels even better? Being reminded that I’m not the only one who feels this way about Dean! Every year since Supernatural ended (and it’s going on five years now), I’ve wondered – will this be the year that no one celebrates on January 24? Will I be the only one missing a fictional character and wanting to share my enthusiasm to celebrate another year?
So far, every year the answer has been no, and this year was no exception. Fans organized a #HappyBirthdayDeanWeek (thanks @pussels68) and for the past week there have been themed posts about our favorite character every day. Not only did that mean more Supernatural content than usual, so YAY, but it also gave me a chance to remember all the things that make the character so special.
We celebrated our favorite Dean hugs and our favorite moments with other characters. Never enough Dean hugs, but every one we got was cherished! Jody, Donna, Charlie, Garth. After so many years waiting, his mom. His dad. Castiel. And of course, Sam.
These are just a few of the posts that crossed my timeline, brightening up the past week because I never get tired of seeing Supernatural (and Winchesters) there!
