兔兔!为什么人们在月初说这句好运的话

01

For some people, the most auspicious way to start a new month is by uttering those words. Others say “white rabbit,” or repeat the word “rabbit” in some other quasi-ritualistic pattern, but the intent is always the same: To start the month on a good (rabbit’s) foot. 

对一些人来说，开始新的一个月最吉祥的方式就是说出这句话。另一些人说“白兔”，或者以某种类似仪式的方式重复“兔子”这个词，但其目的都是一样的:以一个好的(兔子的)脚开始这个月。

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    Where did this tradition come from? Li ke so many superstitions, the origin isn’t quite clear. Word historian Martha Barnette told NPR the practice probably started in the UK, where it’s still common to say “white rabbit” on the first of the month. 

这个传统从何而来?和许多迷信一样，它的起源也不是很清楚。词汇历史学家玛莎·巴奈特告诉NPR，这一做法可能是从英国开始的，在那里，在每个月的第一天仍然普遍说“白兔”。

The first mention of such a practice dates back to the early 1900s, and since then a few notable people have been known to invoke some form of the magical phrase. 

这种做法的第一次提及可以追溯到20世纪初，从那时起，一些著名人士就已经知道使用某种形式的魔法短语。

“In fact, another aficionado of this practice was Franklin Delano Roosevelt,” Barnette said. “He was known to carry a rabbit’s foot during the 1932 election. We still have that rabbit’s foot in a museum. And supposedly, he also said rabbit, rabbit at the beginning of every month.”

“事实上，另一个这种做法的狂热者是富兰克林·德拉诺·罗斯福，”巴奈特说。他以在1932年的选举中带着一只兔子脚而闻名。那只兔子的脚还在博物馆里呢。据说，他经常说兔子，兔子在每个月的开始。”

The superstition probably got a boost in the 1990s, when kids’ TV network Nickelodeon included mentions of “Rabbit Rabbit Day” in its programming. 

上世纪90年代，儿童电视网络Nickelodeon在节目中提到了“兔子兔日”，使这种迷信可能得到了推动。

Whatever the reason, it’s no stretch to see why it’s “rabbit rabbit” and not “possum possum,” or whatever. Rabbits have been seen as good luck for centuries, and are common symbols of rebirth. What better time to get a fresh start than at the beginning of a whole new month?

不管是什么原因，不难看出为什么是“兔子兔子”而不是“负鼠负鼠”或其他什么。几个世纪以来，兔子一直被视为吉祥之物，也是普遍的重生象征。有什么比一个全新的月的开始更适合重新开始呢?

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If there’s no clear answer as to how rabbit’s feet became lucky, there’s really no answer for why people started saying “rabbit rabbit” (or variations like “rabbits” or “bunny bunny”). The earliest written reference may be a 1909 issue of the British journal Notes and Queries, in which a parent observed that some children said “rabbits” on the first of every month for good luck.

如果关于兔子的脚是如何成为幸运的问题没有明确的答案，那就真的没有答案，关于为什么人们开始说“兔子兔子”(或像“兔子”或“兔子兔子”的变体)。最早的书面参考资料可能是1909年出版的英国期刊《笔记与查询》(Notes and Queries)，其中一位家长观察到有些孩子在每个月的第一天说“兔子”，表示好运。

After that, references to the superstition only popped up occasionally. In 1935, the British Nottingham Evening Post reported this bit of gossip: “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 superstition also appeared in Trixie Belden’s The Mystery of the Emeralds, a 1962 book in the kids’ mystery series, and on Nickelodeon in the 1990s.

在那之后，关于这个迷信的说法只是偶尔出现。1935年，英国《诺丁汉晚报》报道了这样一条小道消息:美国的罗斯福曾向他的一个朋友坦白说，他在每个月的第一天都会说‘兔子’，而且，无论如何，他都不会想把这个词漏掉。”这种迷信也出现在翠茜·贝尔登1962年的儿童推理小说《绿宝石之谜》中以及90年代Nickelodeon电视台也有出现。

Some have suggested “rabbit rabbit” is considered lucky because rabbits are notoriously fertile and heavily associated with spring and renewal. But the fact is, we have no idea why people say “rabbit rabbit” or whether it’s related to the superstitions around rabbit’s feet.

一些人认为“兔兔”被认为是幸运的，因为兔子是出了名的多产，与春天和新生密切相关。但事实是，我们不知道为什么人们会说“兔子兔子”，也不知道这是否与兔子脚的迷信有关。

And even though many assume these traditions must stretch far back in time, there are no written records of either the rabbit’s foot or the “rabbit rabbit” superstition before the 20th century.

尽管许多人认为这些传统一定可以追溯到很久以前，但在20世纪之前，既没有关于兔子脚的书面记录，也没有关于“兔子兔子”迷信的书面记录。

“There’s a lot of superstitions, customs and beliefs that we sort of take for granted and we assume are centuries-old,” Radford says, but “in many cases are relatively new."

雷德福说:“我们对很多迷信、习俗和信仰习以为常，认为它们已经存在了几个世纪，但在很多情况下，它们都是相对较新的。”