My great aunt taught my mom to say “rabbit, rabbit, rabbit” first thing in the morning on the first day of the month so you’ll have good luck. Now I’m not a superstitious person at all, but I like to do this – when I remember – simply because it makes me think of my mother and smile. (Of course, I don’t believe I have bad luck if I slip up.) Amazingly, I do remember it often, although it sometimes it isn’t the first words I utter in the morning. That still counts in my book.
As I flipped my calendar at work today and thought “rabbit, rabbit, rabbit” I started to wonder where this saying originated. To wikipedia! It says it’s a common British superstition and is especially common in the Massachusetts area. No clue as to why my Wisconsin-based relatives picked it up.
However, what was really interesting was all of the variations! Here are some of my favorites:
- Making “rabbit, rabbit” be the last words said on the last of the month and the first words said on the first of the month.
- Saying “black rabbits” the night before, and “white rabbits” on the morning in question.
- Saying “white rabbit, white rabbit, white rabbit” as the first words of the month, before getting out of bed—and the speaker must first reverse position, so that speaker’s head is at the foot of the bed and vice versa.
- Using the night of the new moon (traditionally the first day of the lunar month) instead of the first night of the month.
- Various ways to counteract forgetting to say it, most commonly saying it backwards (“tibbar, tibbar”) before falling asleep or saying “moose moose” upon waking on the second day of the month.
Who knew?
Lucky Year of the Rabbit
Coincidentally, this month is Chinese New Year and 2011 is the Year of the Rabbit. My husband is a Rabbit and our baby will also be a Rabbit! I think that’s pretty cool. (I’m the odd-Snake out.) I always liked the Rabbit description on typical Chinese restaurant placemats…”luckiest of all signs, you are also talented and articulate. Affectionate yet shy, you seek peace throughout your life.”
Rabbits are:
Gracious, good friends, kind, sensitive, soft-spoken, amiable, elegant, reserved, cautious, artistic, thorough, tender, self-assured, shy, astute, compassionate, lucky, flexible. Can be moody, detached, superficial, self-indulgent, opportunistic, stubborn.
Yeah, horoscopes of any kind are general by nature…but that seems to describe my husband pretty well. I think the Snake description fits me too:
Deep thinker, wise, mystic, graceful, soft-spoken, sensual, creative, prudent, shrewd, elegant, cautious, responsible, calm, strong, constant, purposeful. Can be loner, bad communicator, possessive, hedonistic, self-doubting, distrustful, mendacious, suffocating, cold.