Have you ever received one at your company? No? Well, that’s not the case with my company in Canada. Since I’ve started here, every time a colleague is celebrating his/her birthday, we usually get a card from our boss asking us to write something on the card.
I think it is nice. Even if you don’t like it to write or receive, it is always good to receive a birthday card. It proves that you’re important, that you’re part of a team. Sometimes, it is also your only present, right? 
When an envelope with a business card pass by my desk, I write something to my colleague and always sign the card with an expression in Portuguese: Feliz Aniversário! (that’s how we say Happy Birthday in Portuguese). It is also an opportunity to share our culture with our friends. They usually try to say the word and it is great, because they came by and we start a conversation. I’ve been keeping the ones that I’ve received. So far, I have 3 birthday cards
In Brazil, when we’re having a party celebrating someone’s birthday, we sung a song and as the music goes by, we’re clapping. Once the melody finishes, so does the clapping. One thing that I will never forget is when I was working on my previous company: we got together to say Happy Birthday to a colleague. When we started to sung, I started to clap (as I was used to in Brazil, right?) So, can you imagine how embarassed I was? I felt I was doing something wrong and of course I was. Has it happened to you?
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