Rituals

As a Korean-American, there are some holidays that I conserve while others do not. In addition to this, there are some additional things that my family and I do on holidays than what the average American does.
One such tradition, or ritual, is to make and eat a special soup when it is one's birthday. I never found this soup tasty or even necessary, I took it for granted until one day my family decided to withhold from me this "privilege" and forgo the soup for my birthday.
At first, I did not think much of it at first, I mean it was only a soup. But as my day progressed, I started to feel nostalgic and saddened by the fact that my family had not spent time and effort providing me the most necessary thing that one has on his birthday--the soup.
Although in the end I ended up eating my soup, I realized that rituals do not have significance in itself, but it's the fact that one goes out of his way for this "burden" that makes the ritual that much more special.