By Marina Watts
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Did you say "Rabbit, rabbit" first thing this morning? If you did, you'll get 30 days of good luck, according to a superstition. If you forgot to say it, you'll have 30 days of bad luck, according to that same superstition.
The tradition, which is most popular in North America and Great Britain, has been practiced for many years in order to invoke good fortune at the start of each month. Some believe that this practice dates back for 2,000 years. Variations of the phrase include "Rabbit, rabbit," "Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit," "Rabbits" or "White rabbits."
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As per the Farmer's Almanac, the first written record we have of someone invoking "Rabbit, rabbit" on the first of the month comes from 1901 in a British periodical called Notes And Queries.
"My two daughters are in the habit of saying 'Rabbits!' on the first day of each month," the periodical read. "The word must be spoken aloud, and be the first word said in the month. It brings luck for that month. Other children, I find, use the same formula."
Rabbits have been associated with good luck for centuries, along with rebirth, resurrection and fertility. This is also why a rabbit's foot is historically considered a lucky token.
According to NPR, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt carried a rabbit's foot with him during the 1932 election, and said "Rabbit, rabbit" on the first day of each month. "Even Mr. Roosevelt, the President of the United States, has confessed to a friend that he says 'Rabbits' on the first of every month—and, what is more, he would not think of omitting the utterance on any account," the Nottingham Evening Post wrote in 1935, via Oprah Magazine.
Actress Sarah Jessica Parker is also a strong believer in the "Rabbit, rabbit" superstition, and has used the lucky phrase for at least 25 years. She told InStyle in 2018 that there are two ways of maintaining the tradition. You can either stay awake until after midnight on the first of the month, and say "Rabbit, rabbit" at 12:01 a.m., or you can make sure you say it first thing in the morning after you wake up on the first.
If you didn't get to say "Rabbit, rabbit" this morning and you could really use the good luck, it's not too late. Author and word historian Martha Barnette told NPR that you can still lock in some good fortune by saying "Black rabbit" right before you go to sleep, or "Tibbar, tibbar," which is rabbit spelled backwards.
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