It was a standard for us as children in The New Forest, Hampshire; both "Pinch & Punch" and all the retorts, plus if you said "White Rabbits" as your first spoken words on any 1st of the month, NO One was allowed to Pinch & Punch you.
How they got to know that you said it is another matter?

I still do it as a joke to my wife every 1st of the month. Still an inner child at 63!

Tim Radford