In my family we say “Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit” (or try to) first thing on the first of a new month. It’s supposed to be good luck, and can be surprisingly difficult to remember to do. There are loads of variations on this tradition. Some say only “Rabbit, Rabbit!”, some say “White rabbits!” Usually I just blow it by talking to my cats. This morning, though, I welcomed in 2025 with those three little words. Yay! It always feels exponentially more lucky when I manage to remember to say this on the first day of a new year. Also, since I heard my husband murmuring “Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit” in the wee hours of the night, I’m pretty sure we’ve got at least double luck heading into this year. I’ll take it.

There’s another New Year tradition or superstition that birders adhere to. They notice the first bird they see in the New Year and look to it for some insight into what the year ahead might hold for them. This morning, feeling pretty lucky with all my rabbit remembering, I thought I might try this. When I first thought of it, it was still dark outside, but even though I couldn’t see it, I could hear the rain pouring down. Clearly it’s a miserable day outside. Would the birds even appear? As the morning lightened, I postponed looking. What would I see? Does it alter things if the birds are enticed by my well stocked feeders? Should I also note what bird I first see when out and about? Am I skewing my own bird prophecy? lol

Finally, as the day lightened up a bit, I peeked out the window. Sitting on the platform feeder in the downpour was a tufted titmouse. This delighted me, as these are one of the birds I’ve been able to identify since childhood. Over the years, I’ve been mightily entertained by watching these small birds take oversized nuts and even peanuts from the feeders.

Quickly, I googled to figure out the symbolism. The first site I found noted that “Titmice are curious, joyful birds. They are adaptable and may be considered brave due to their small size and bold spirit.”

I dug a little further.

“If you’re lucky enough to see a Tufted Titmouse first, expect that this year when you see something that arouses your curiosity, you’ll not be able to stop yourself from fully investigating, ” writes Laura Ericson on her birding blog.

Well, this sounded promising. Taking time to embrace and entertain curiosity is always rewarding. I’ve come to believe that it’s a critical human trait, and I suppose it goes hand and hand with imagination. When we’re curious about things, we’re opening our mind to imagine alternatives. To wonder. To reconsider what we think we know. I just read Trevor Noah’s book “Into the Uncut Grass” and was intrigued by his reflections in the introduction on the importance of imagination. Among other things, he writes, “Imagining, I’ve come to understand, is crucial for conflict resolution…Imagination allows us to step outside of entrenched positions and explore new perspectives, to conceive of compromises that were previously invisible.” Curiosity does this too.

What superstitions or traditions do you embrace at the beginning of the New Year?

I wish you the best in 2025. May it be a year rich with curiosity and wonder.