Is your birthday really about you?How this annual ritual reveals our cultural values.

From the show

Why We Do That

The way we celebrate birthdays reveals a culture's core values. For many, it’s an individual-focused party that affirms a person's unique importance. But in other parts of the world, the big day is a shared, communal event. From the collective birthdays of Tết in Vietnam to the precedence of 'name days' in Greece, these traditions show how different societies balance individualism and collectivism. How, or if, we celebrate reflects what we value most: the self or the group.