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White Rabbits

  • Thread starter Neville Philpott
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Neville Philpott

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According to my wife, on the first day of each new month and before midday i have been heard to mutter 'white rabbits' three times in succession.

I obviously don't realise i am doing this, has anyone else ever heard of this saying or am i going crackers?

Maybe it is some good luck omen but i have no idea where it came from...
 
No Neville, you're not going crackers! But I was told you could only do this when there's an 'r' in the month. So you can't do it in May, June, July or August. I don't know what are the consequencies if you don't say it though! Viv.
 
Oh eck my dad was a welshman and he always used to get me to say that on the 1st of March ..still do now
 
The version my mother in law has is you must say it on the first day of each month before you say anything else. Mind you shes as mad as a March hare. lol.
 
The fishing community in South Devon never refer to these kind of animals, whatever colour, by their correct name. They are known as 'furry congers'. To use the word is considered to bring very bad luck.

Green is an unlucky colour, seeing a clergyman on the way to the harbour signified a return home - no putting to sea that day. Crossed broomsticks on a deck were considered bad omen and so on.
 
This is one of the MANY superstitions that I have inherited from my mom, & I have indeed repeated "Rabbits, Rabbits white Rabbits" on the 1st of every month ever since the 1940's !!!

Margaret.
 
I only vaguely remember something about saying "Rabbits, Rabbits, Rabbits" on the first of a month with "r" in the spelling in my childhood. We have a broadcaster here in
Vancouver who used to say Rabbits three times at the start of his show when it was the first of the month with an "r" in it. I have never heard White Rabbits said here in Canada. Here is the Wikipedia write-up with some funny versions...https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit_rabbit_rabbit
 
I am not superstitious in any way Jenny but just say it for fun the first day of a month with R in it. Pete thinks I am barmy but I don't care. He never heard the saying when he was a kid.
 
Don't think you are going mad Neville, same as a few others though, I thought you only said it on the first day of months with an R in them, si if you are mad, so are a lot of us too!
Sue
 
My Mom used to say it on the first day of the month, but can't remember what month.
 
hi wendy ; and all ;
the saying of white rabbits as always been the saying of white rabbitts on the first of march
and its alaso known as the mad hares day ; ever since i was born and as soon as i could talk read and write ;
best wishes astonian;;
 
Mum used to say "Pinch and a punch, first of the month" and we were supposed to say "Pinch and a kick for being so quick"!! I prefer the "White Rabbits!!"
I think we had a thread about other superstitions, my Nan had one for everything, it seemed.
rosie.
 
hi guys ;
there was that many suprstitions around in our fore fathers and mothers dayd when you think about them ;
i look back and laugh just to think of these silly victorian saying ;
there is a couple i can recall is;
If you spill salt thow a pinch over your left shoulder ; ifyou see a knife fork or spoon on the floor ;it meant it was a vistitor coming to the house ;
Knife ; its a man ; Fork its a lady ; a spoon its a letter ;; do not walk under the ladder ; bad luck ;do not cross another person on the stairs ;its bad luck ;
if you find a horse shoe throw it overyour left shoulder ;for good luck ; ;if she seen a nun in a habbit it was bad luck ; and a qauker in a huge hat they used to wear when around the streets was good luck ;do not put shoe on the table bad luck ; some body kicking around a tin can in the garden or on the street by the door means death ; a bird flying into the house from the street through the window means a sign of death; strnge things these victorian people
oh yes get a tall dark man to walk through the front door of your house on news years eve on the stroke of twelve oclock ;
how many more things i reckon you could spend a whole day thinking about these sill supestitions when i was a kid i used to beleive these silly things ;
i can recall working one wek end over at sutton in the eighties and working a a lady house ii seen and found an horse shoe in her garden
i said to the father inlaw when i picked up the horse shoe and thrown it over my left shoulder for good luck ; he laughed ;
on the way home we came down kings rd king standing and out side the police stationthere was a bunch of coppers just finisihing there shift
i was driving an old car and all of a sudden there was a big bang ; the coppers turned around and looked towards us ;
what had actualy happenend was the engine mounts snapped on my car and fell through ; i swore in front of my father inlaw and said of all the place to dropp ;
i was red faced ; the coppers came across and helped us to push it onto the island on the rd as its a dual two way rd then ;
they laughed and went into the station ; my car was all taxed and insured there was no problem for me only to try and get it towed to a garage
which i did ; and i turned around to my father inlaw so much for the superstitions saying about the horse shoes i never beleive any of this mumbo rubbish
again in my life ; what a way to beleive this rubbish through out your life ; best wishes astonian;
 
I recently came across a mention of the ‘white rabbits’ saying, in a book about folk lore, legends, and witchcraft; although there was no explanation as to why it was said, or why it was said when there was an ‘r’ in the month - but seemingly it was originally said whilst turning ‘three times widdershins’ (anti-clockwise) - ‘widdershins’ being a way of averting, or negating a spell etc.
 
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