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Menelaus
Spartan Warrior Extraordinairé
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12-01-2015, 10:50 AM
pinch punch! first of the month!! and no returns!!!

a centuries old English tradition enjoyed by children and adults alike.
the saying is thought to originate back to the days when people thought that witches existed. apparently salt would make a witch weak, so the pinch part refers to a pinch of salt, and the punch part was to banish the witch. its pretty unclear as to why this became associated with the first of the month, but we’re English, so just embrace our unique brand of eccentricity, then laugh at us behind our backs. works nicely for everyone. what also makes us very English is our love of rules. so, you’ll be pleased to know that there are some very strict rules governing the usage of this strange little custom of ours. these are often argued upon, depending on which part of the country you're in, but in my neck of the woods, the rules are as follows:
1, pinching and punching can only take place on the first day of the month between dawn and midday.
2,the person has to be awake.
3, you can’t pinch punch a person whose already pinched punched you.
4, all pinch punching must be performed within the allocated time, early or late pinching and punching is punishable by the quasi-sophisticated retort 'a punch and a kick for being so quick,' which can then be reciprocated with 'a poke in the eye for being so sly' (best to use your thumb for better accuracy).
5, if you do elect to do the ‘a pinch and a punch’ thing at all you would be well advised to include at the end ‘and no returns’. if you forget to say ‘and no returns’ you may still find yourself subject to the ‘a punch and a kick for being so quick’ penalty (and kicks hurt waaay more than punches).
so, with all this in mind, you pick your victim, home in and strike with a not too painful but noticeable pinch and a punch some where on their body whilst triumphantly whooping:
"PINCH! PUNCH!! FIRST OF THE MONTH!!!"
common reactions when being pinch punched usually range between a surprised “crap… is it the first of the month again!” an argumentative “NO! NO! Doesn’t count/ I saw you coming/it’s nearly twelve o’clock/I wasn’t awake properly/it’s too early/I don’t do pinch punch/…stupid English tradition/what’s the point, or a blood curdling "aaaargh! that hurt!!!”
but, you can bet your hind teeth that, come the end of that month, they’ll all be fiendishly plotting how to ‘Pinch! Punch’ you come first of next month
what strange customs and traditions do the have where you live?
Last edited by Menelaus; 12-01-2015 at 11:24 AM..
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~LONGCAT~
is Long
☆☆☆☆ Moderator
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12-04-2015, 02:10 AM
"White rabbit white rabbit" or just "Rabbit rabbit" As the first thing you say on the first of the month, is supposed to bring you good luck. double if you see a rabbit that morning. or it's just supposed to make you see rabbits. I don't really remember.
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Menelaus
Spartan Warrior Extraordinairé
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12-04-2015, 06:18 AM
that's really interesting you should say that, as in Devon and the West Country of England, the term 'white rabbit' is used to ward off people who pinch punch you on the first of the month, and sometimes in the place of 'no returns' so I'm guessing that white rabbit has its roots in warding off bad spirits, or atleast witches, too
Last edited by Menelaus; 12-04-2015 at 06:21 AM..
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Cardinal Biggles
Patron Saint of Pigeons🌙
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12-05-2015, 07:14 AM
Okay now I really want to know if actual rabbits were considered a ward of evil. I mean, there's that whole rabbit's foot thing. Which is unpleasant and I would much prefer it if we could redirect that back to live rabbits, if live rabbits were the starting point.
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Menelaus
Spartan Warrior Extraordinairé
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12-05-2015, 04:00 PM
that's actually a really good question, and not totally off topic either. I had to do a little research, but I think I just may have found you an answer. as any practitioner of the spiritual arts will tell you, it is unwise to focus one’s attention or luck on any kind of charm because it just represents our fear that we may be unlucky. that said, the superstitions about rabbit’s feet go back two centuries at least, when they were also thought to be healing wards, good for rheumatism. some even thought that rubbing a rabbit’s foot on a newborn’s face would ward off evil spirits. however, it was also said to be unlucky to kill a rabbit, so Bob only knows where these feet came from. rabbit superstitions go back a whole lot further, I found written text on the subject from as far back as the twelfth century, so you can imagine the old wives' tales going back even further. in alot of the superstitions, rabbits are known as symbols of fertility and new life, and I know that the ancient Celts associated rabbits with good fortune from as far back as the seventh century. something to do with rabbits living in deep underground burrows made them think them in direct communication with the gods and spirits of the underworld. a common belief in many parts of Great Britain, with local variants, to secure good luck is to should say ‘rabbits’ three times just before going to sleep on the last day of the month, and then ‘hares’ three times on waking the next morning, which sounds loosely related to the pinch punch tradition. and I've also read that on the first day of the month when you wake up in the morning you should shout ‘white rabbit’ and when you go to bed at night shout ‘black rabbit’ and you will have good luck. so apparently the rabbit's colour counts for something too. although in some places its traditional only to say the 'white rabbit' bit, but whichever way you do it, if you can remember to say that twelve times a year, you’ll have a very lucky year. but the superstitions surrounding bunnies are not always benign. sometimes, rabbits were thought to be a sign for bad luck. wicked witches were supposed to be able to turn themselves into hares. I guess they alternated with black cats to keep the villagers guessing. and in some country villages it was considered quite unclean to eat hares, because the souls of their grandmothers were supposed to have entered into them. the running of a hare along the street or mainway of a village was said to portend fire to some house in the immediate vicinity. it was even worse luck to have one run through your garden because you’d probably have your house on fire before the end of the year. even just 'meeting' one could really mess up your day. not surprisingly, sailors have their rabbit superstitions too, and not just for bad luck but for very bad luck. a hare , especially a dead one, showing up on a ship, would be an omen for stormy weather, and it would be very unlucky to go to sea with any part of a hare or rabbit about. if a fisherman found a hare on his net he would burn the net rather than go to sea with it.
Quote:
"he that receiveth a mischance, wil consider whether he met not a hare, when he first went out of his doores in the morning." 1723
“neither Clawson’s boat, nor Peter Grot’s are out to the haaf this morning, for a rabbit ran across them as they were going on board, and they came back like wise men.” 1822
(both from the dictionary of superstitions)
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lol, imagine calling that one in to your boss. and it was probably the bosses who most endorsed the remedies of hare based misfortunes, such as spitting over your left shoulder, and saying, ‘hare before, trouble behind, change ye, cross, and free me,’ or touching each shoulder with your forefinger, and saying, ‘hare, hare, god send thee care.’ it was still bad luck to meet a hare, but if you were unfortunate enough to do so, you could easily set matters right. in later superstitions it was considered lucky to meet a hare, but unlucky to see it run across the path. and, should it cross the path of a wayfarer from right to left, his journey would be disastrous, if it scudded along the way before him, the issue of his affairs would be doubtful for some time, but if it crossed from left to right it was a lucky token. this could've been the start of a rabbits foot being considered being lucky, although for the rabbit, maybe not so lucky. perhaps the hare who lost the foot saw a rabbit cross it’s path that day. so the whole luck and rabbits thing is definitely a two way door spanning back for centuries, and that's only in Britain. there are buck-toothed traditions and superstitions from all over the world, and most of them, in some way or another, pertain to luck, be it good or bad, but nothing I can find (except in the form of a chant, or by avoiding them entirely) points towards actual rabbits being a ward against evil
Last edited by Menelaus; 12-05-2015 at 05:28 PM..
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