Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-5824906-20130318235343/@comment-4839682-20151022181031

Farerb wrote: Bot of Solitude wrote: It's most likely the 22nd, as Emma was celebrating her birthday on that date in "Pilot" (the newspaper date the morning following her arrival in Storybrooke was the 23rd). Again she might have celebrated after midnight. There was no specific time plus it seems a bit weird that she waited an entire day to have a cupcake and blow a candle, why not do it in the morning? I don't know, but there is something special about her birthday being the day of the curse and the day the show started. Seems like you have an issue with it being the 22nd XD Her date with Ryan was on the 22nd, and she told him it was her birthday. I don't buy myself cupcakes in the morning either XD

Her birthday is special, yes, because it establishes that she's THE Emma. Being before or after midnight is kind of a moot point, however, the show does tell us that she celebrates it on the 22nd, so that must be what her birth certificate says. They would have determined an approximate time of birth for her, which would have been easy considering that she was mere minutes old when she went into the wardrobe.