Saturday, January 10, 2009

Why Do People Say "Bless You" When You Sneeze?

For many of us, saying "Bless you" or "Gesundheit" following someone else's sneeze is a conditioned response or reflexive action. Whenever we hear a loud sneeze, the next words out of our mouths will be a blessing of some description. But why do we say "Bless you" immediately following someone else's sneeze? Essentially, it's because of centuries of religion and tradition. By not saying "Bless you" or something similar, you may be setting yourself up for an even bigger problem down the road.
From some interpretations of the Judeo-Christian point of view, our hearts and minds have nothing on our nostrils. When God decided to create Man from the dust of the Earth, He blew the spirit of life into Man's nostrils. In many other religions, the nostrils are considered to be a gateway between the spiritual and physical worlds. Whenever someone sneezes, he or she may be expelling some of the life forces or spirits sent by the Creator. By saying "Bless you", it is believed that you are preventing evil spirits from entering the sufferer's body through the nostrils.
There is also a theory that during the Dark and Middle Ages, a violent sneeze was often a precursor of dreaded diseases such as the plague. Whenever someone sneezed, those closest to him or her issued an immediate "Bless you" to ward off the evil forces which led to disease and suffering. The blessing wasn't so much for the health of the sneezer, but for the continued good health of those who came in contact with the expelled mucus. Some sources say Pope Gregory I popularized the common use of blessings as he reflexively blessed those who sneezed in his presence.
The very act of sneezing may also prompt a "Bless you" response from onlookers, especially if it is a powerful blast. Some common rumors about sneezing suggest that a person's heart may stop beating, the pressure could induce a stroke or the eyes may be blown out of their sockets during a violent sneeze. The immediate "bless you" response is thought to be an expression of gratitude that the sneezer did not experience any of those events. The German blessing Gesundheit literally means ";May you be called healthy", and most likely entered the American vernacular following the immigration of the Pennsylvania Dutch and other German populations.

Hmm.. what do you think?
I always thought that people just made up to say "Bless You" when somebody sneezed.
I even told my friends that if you sneeze more than a time, i don't think is a blessing but you probably going to be sick.
I won't take this as a blessing when somebody sneezed.
Blessings comes from God and not by somebody sneezes
The bible didn't even teach us by sneezing is a blessing.

So it was 'A centuries of religion and tradition' that passes down to 21 centuries.
Nowadays you will still hear people saying "Bless You!" when you sneezed.

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