In Brazil, where I am from, the big achievement that warranted a celebration used to be graduating from university (I guess you call it college in the US). For many families the celebration was also the gift — those things don't come cheap.

But in the last 30 years or so, I have noticed that many now celebrate completing high school, completing primary school, or even completing kindergarten (!) — and not just something symbolic or small, but big events.

Maybe I'm just old and grumpy, but this rubs me off in the wrong way: I also believe that these "achievements" are things that you are simply expected to do. Congratulations and positive reinforcement are always welcome, but when there is an expectation of a reward then to me it crossed the line into something unhealthy.