Clap your hands and say Yeah!

My boss is from the Congo and she was saying that when she moved to the US, it took her a while to get used to people clapping their hands and celebrating when they were excited. Now she claps her hands and get's excited often and it's really cute. At work we acknowlege each other and clap for each other when someone does something beyond the normal expectations, my boss said this would be abnormal in the Congo. It makes me think who started this whole celebrating publically thing, and if we do it because it is cultrally expected or if we really mean it. When I clap, I mean it or I don't clap. When I shout for joy, I mean it. I am glad that it is part of my culture or I might not fit it so well if not, because it seems I get excited a lot!