If >90% of his society embraced the tradition of giving new pillows every year, then he would indeed be a little out of line in expecting others to accede unifo

If >90% of his society embraced the tradition of giving new pillows every year, then he would indeed be a little out of line in expecting others to accede uniformly to his pillow-less demands. It's not rude to ask, but it is pointless to get upset when some people decline to do what you want. Edit: actually, by convention it is a little rude to ask most people to give you particular types of things for your birthday, unless they are very close to you socially (spouse or significant other, basically).