Vietnamese Time Machine

One way I practice Vietnamese is forcing taxicab drivers into small talk which must make any ride with me seem like an eternity. But these guys are one of my main gateways to general cultural education. So, imagine how surprised I was when cab drivers consistently told me that, by arriving in Vietnam, I was one year older.

Apparently, because all good things start during lunar new year (Tet) festivities, everyone adds a notch at the beginning of the (lunar) year, instead of at their actual anniversary of birth. Several drivers from the countryside didn't even know their (solar) calendar date of birth (though, they assured me, their mothers had remembered the month and year). Some drivers didn't even know their age, but rather talked about age by using birth year instead.