The phone rings at six thirty in the morning.  The caller ID says it is my brother calling me.  Hmm. What could he want?  Since we’ve been grown, it is hard not to lose touch with each other.  I’ve gotten married and had four children.  I’ve settled in a small town in Louisiana.  He has gone off to college in Houston.  Our lives could not be more different.  We have nothing in common anymore—not even a last name.  He cannot relate to my parenting anecdotes, and I cannot relate to his nights out on the town.  So what holds us together now that we have made our own lives?  What is the reason behind his early morning call?

“White Rabbit Day!”  I don’t have time to say hello before he laughs out our family catchphrase.

It’s the first day of the month.  I forgot.  It’s been a whole month since I spoke to my brother.  He got me last month too.  But after I catch up on news with my brother, I can call my dad and “get” him.

You see, our family has had a tradition for three generations now.  I don’t know how it got started, or what the purpose is.  But on the first of the month, you have to be the first to say the words “White Rabbit Day” to the other person.  The other person usually groans “you got me,” disappointed to not have thought of it first.

There are no consequences, you don’t win anything.  It’s just fun. 

I remember as a child, lying awake in my bed on the last night of the month, watching the clock until it would strike midnight.  Then I would climb out of bed, sneak over to my brother’s bed and yell at him “White Rabbit Day!!!”  He would wake up with a start, tumbling out of his bed tangled in his covers.  Then he would try to act angry with me, struggling to hold back his own laughter.

Other stories abound with us.  Hiding behind a door to jump out and yell “White Rabbit Day!” when someone walked by.  We debated what constituted cheating.  Was it legal to write a note and tape it to the bathroom door?  Was it cheating to type it on Daddy’s computer screen?  Was it permissible to wake Grandma up at four in the morning to whisper “White Rabbit Day!” in her ear?

Since we have been grown and have moved out, these debates continue.  Does email count?  After all, you can write it ahead of time, and schedule it to go out automatically on the right date.  Is text messaging it legal?  It seems like an ambush.  But phones are our favorite. 

I like to call my dad and see how long I can get him to talk….and talk…..and talk….before I finally say, “Well, I was just calling to say White Rabbit Day.”  Calling my brother is dangerous.  He might see my name and say “White Rabbit Day” instead of hello when he answers.  But if I wait for his call, I might forget and answer “hello.”

It seems silly.  What does “White Rabbit Day” mean?  Where did it come from?  It remains a mystery.  But it has become an important monthly holiday for my family.  We all play musical phones the first day of each month.  My brother calls me.  We talk about his new girlfriend, and his music students, and his classes with petty professors.  Then I call my grandmother.  We talk about her garden, her cats, and my children.  Then my dad might hear her talking to me and call me on the other line.  We talk about his current employment or lack thereof, his health, his pipe dreams of grandeur, and usually we end up talking about good books or debating philosophy.  Then we hang up and get once again lost in our own lives.

It seems ironic that the holiday I love best is one no one outside of my family has even heard of.   Some families have to wait until Thanksgiving to reconnect with family.  I am thankful for White Rabbit Day, and even more so because I get twelve each year. 

Maybe your family has a unique tradition.  Or maybe your family could benefit from adopting ours.  “White Rabbit Day” may have come from nowhere, but I hope it never returns to from whence it came.