A long time ago a guy named Wally Phillips had a wildly popular morning show on WGN radio in Chicago. It was from him that my mother heard about the practice of saying "Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit" to people on the first day of the month. He said you would get along all month long with all the people you say it to.
According to what I can find on the Internet, Wally's take on it is a variation of a common superstition in England. You will have good luck all month, they say, if the first words you utter upon waking on the first day of the month are "rabbit, rabbit" or "rabbit, rabbit, rabbit" or "rabbit, rabbit, white rabbit" or just "white rabbit." Plurals of any of those are also acceptable.
Whatever the reason for saying it, my mother always did. Every first of every month. To everybody. That, I presume, is why I say it too.
Speaking of my mother and superstitions and keeping traditions alive -- I said in a recent post I am not superstitious, but I have to admit that if I spill salt, I still do toss a pinch of it over my left shoulder, for no other reason but that my mother always did.
I once said to her, "Mom, if you're supposed to throw salt over your shoulder when you spill it, what should you do if you spill the pepper?" She said, "Clean it up."
Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit is only voiced as the first spoken words only in the months that include an "R" - as I recall Wally's instruction. By the way I listened to him WLW in Cincinnati before he started with WGN in Chicago.
ReplyDeleteJohn Y Cedar Rapids, Ia.