on official birthdays...

In the US, if it is your birthday, restaurants would bring you a free dessert.

I just learned that in the UK, you would get a free drink !

and, as a colleague was saying, you can identify a path of bars in the "city center" (US translation: downtown) and have as many drinks on your birthday and get awfully drunk!

You can't do that with desserts... cause, well, how many meals are you gonna have to get more free desserts!???