do you know why we say god bless you when you sneeze?

Question

first right answer gets 10 points

Answer 1

becuase your heart stops for a split second

Answer 2

Ancient Greeks knew that the heart stopped for a second when a sneeze happened, so the blessing was said so that the person's heart would keep beating. They also thought that a sneeze left you momentarily open to demonic influences, so the small blessing was said to ward off demonic infiltration.

From Wikipedia (which seems to be non-biased and authoritative on this answer)

One traditional explanation for the custom is that it began literally as a blessing. Pope Gregory I the Great (540-604 CE) ascended to the Papacy just in time for the start of the plague in 590 CE (his successor succumbed to it). To combat the plague, Gregory ordered litanies, processions and unceasing prayer for God's intercession. When someone sneezed, they were immediately blessed ("God bless you!") in the hope that they would not subsequently develop the plague.

However, the use of the phrase bless you or god bless you in Greek literature predates the ascention of Gregory.

"Bless you, my dear!" he said, and "bless you, bless you!" at the second and third sneeze.
-- Apuleius, The Golden A-s-s, 150 CE

Dick cannot blow his nose whene'er he pleases, His nose so long is, and his arm so short; Nor ever cries, God bless me! when he sneezes - He cannot hear so distant a report.
-- Greek Anthology, c. 500 CE

Many of the other theories are based on superstitions and urban legends about sneezing and what a sneeze entails. Some well known superstitions that may have brought the phrase bless you into common use are:

* The heart stops when you sneeze (it doesn't), and the phrase bless you was meant to ensure the return of life or to encourage your heart to continue beating.
* A sneeze is the expulsion of some sort of evil, and the phrase was meant to ward off the evil's re-entry.
* Your soul can be thrown from your body when you sneeze, and saying bless you prevents your soul from being stolen by Satan or some evil spirit. Thus, bless you or God bless you was used as a sort of shield against evil.
* A sneeze is good luck, and saying "bless you" is no more than recognition of the sneezer's luckiness.

Alternatively, it may be possible that the phrase began rather uninterestingly as a response for an event that wasn't well understood at the time.

Another urban legend states that you cannot open your eyes while you sneeze, or if you manage to your eyes will pop out. This is, as stated, nothing more than an urban legend.

In many English-speaking countries, the German equivalent, gesundheit (which roughly translated means "good health!") is proffered after sneezing.

In some parts of Australia, the expression is also used when a person belches or breaks wind; this usage is primarily an indication that the blesser has not been offended by the gaseous expulsions of the blessed.

Answer 3

In ancient times, it was customary to congratulate someone who just
sneezed, because sneezing was viewed as the body's way to expel evil
spirits. This view may have been based on the observation that
people sneeze more often when they are ill, and illness was thought
to be caused by evil spirits.

In the fourteenth century, the black plague came to Europe
accompanied by violent sneezing among those afflicted. The Pope
passed a law that anyone who sneezed was to be blessed by those
nearby, with the hope that death might be averted. Today, most
people still say "Bless you!" when someone sneezes.

The Germans were a bit less religious about their sneezing customs.
To this day, they say "gesundheit" [geh-ZUND-hyt] after someone
sneezes, which simply means "good health."

Answer 4

Because it was thought that the devil or an evil spirit was being expelled by the sneeze. The courtesey of asking God's blessing upon the sneezer was appropriate to discourage the bad spirit from re-entrance.

Answer 5

People say God Bless You because in the old days when no one had science, people thought that all feelings and sicknesses were demons and spirits. When someone was sick, they had an evil demon in them. When someone sneezed, they were expelling a demon from them, and everyone would say "God Bless You" for getting rid of that demon.

Answer 6

I saw on the History channel that some people started to say it during the Salem Witch Trials Time in history. People thought when you sneezed, demons were coming out of your boby---so people wanted to "bless you".

Answer 7

At one time it was believed that your heart stopped when you sneezed and that that stoppage allowed the devil potential access. So people blessed one another to prevent that.

Answer 8

Same as what Gillipoos-the thirdonewhoanswered? said: The Plague in Europe.
So if she's right, you're going to give her ten points just cuz she beat me to it huh? How about splitting say, 5 and 5? :)

Answer 9

It started with the plague in England I believe.
When people started sneezing it was feared they had the disease and so would bless them before they died!!
As there was no cure, it was inevitable you were going to.

Answer 10

So the "evil"spirits don't enter your body!