Evan Vaisvil

Math teacher Michelle Meers teaches her class about a superstition in her 7th period class. Meers reminds her class of the monthly luck booster a day before the new month. “It just helps them remember what day it is and that a new month is coming up. [It also] perks them up and helps them listen,” Meers said.

On the first day of every month, students in math teacher Michelle Meers’s class find themselves a part of a unique tradition. Since the 1900s, the Rabbit Rabbit superstition is said to have brought people luck for 30 days. Using two simple words, “Rabbit Rabbit,” Meers creates a fun month-long luck booster that anyone can enjoy by saying the phrase on the first day of every month. 

Meers first learned about this superstition through Nick Jr. commercials. Nickelodeon launched Nick Jr. in 1988 for children who were too young to watch shows on the main platform. It included shows such as “Dora The Explorer” and “The Backyardigans,” but Meers remembers one specific advertisement more than any of these shows.

“[When I was in elementary school] for some reason [Rabbit Rabbit] just really stuck with me. I was pretty superstitious as a kid, so I think I believed it would bring me good luck,” Meers said.

Meers introduced “Rabbit Rabbit” to her class to remind everyone of the upcoming month and her childhood tradition. She makes sure to add it to the class’s daily agenda whenever it gets close to the start of the month.

“I know that Rabbit Rabbit is just a little [tradition], but it’s something fun to do, and I think that kids are especially [happy to participate]. I like to connect to my students on a personal level, so [it’s good for kids that] don’t like to talk as much to have a little thing like this that’s not asking them anything personal about themselves when they are maybe too shy to share anything,” Meers said.

Meers has relied on her “Rabbit Rabbit” superstition in her life and promotes it to her students.

“I remember that one month this school year when my daughter was sick [it devastated me]. So, I thought I should remember to say it that month because we needed some good luck that month,” Meers said.

Senior Cassie Erhardt, one of Meers’s students, plans to be an elementary school teacher, and she plans to teach her future classes the same traditions that Meers taught her.

“I did not know about [the tradition] until I had Mrs. Meers and she reminded us each month to do it, and I did it. I got a raise that month at my job. [If you say it,] you’ll get good luck that month. And if it’s your birthday month, you have extra good luck,” Erhardt said.

Sophomore Audrey Leahy, another student of Meers, also appreciates the tradition.

“I think [‘Rabbit Rabbit’] is kind of funny. I was just up one random night. At midnight I was, ‘Oh, I’m gonna say it and see what it does.’ So I tried it, and within one week, I scored five times in soccer games,” Leahy said.

The idea of saying “Rabbit Rabbit” every month has stuck since she introduced it in her class, and 60% of students continue to do it every month.

“Honestly, the best part is when people come to class excited to tell me they did it. For a kid, going day to day – just dragging along, gives them something extra fun and kind of whimsical. Kids remember it and come and find me on the first of the month and say, ‘Hey, I did ‘Rabbit Rabbit’ today,’ that’s what keeps me doing it. It’s just something fun to talk to my students and share an experience with them,” Meers said.