Why do we say 'Sorry' and 'God Bless' when one sneezes?

Question

Pers. exp.

Answer 1

The "God Bless" response to a sneeze comes from it being a symptom of the plague (listen to the "ring a ring of roses" nursery rhyme).

Saying sorry is simply an apology for a bodily function that may have made a noise and disturbed someone :-)

Answer 2

At one time people believed a man's soul could be inadvertently thrust from his body by an explosive sneeze, thus "Bless you!" was a protective oath uttered to safeguard the temporarily expelled and vulnerable soul from being snatched up by Satan (who was always lurking nearby). The purpose of the oath was to cast a temporary shield over the flung-out soul which would protect it just long enough to regain the protection of the corporeal body.

Conversely, the sneeze itself was the expulsion of a demon or evil spirit which had taken up residence in a person. Therefore, although the "Bless you!" was again a protective charm meant to protect the sneezer from evil, in this version it was meant to ward off the re-entry of an evil spirit which a tormented soul had just rid itself of.

The heart was believed to momentarily stop during a sneeze (it doesn't), thus the "Bless you!" was uttered either as a supplication for life to return or as a congratulation upon its successful restart.

Others claim an association of the practice with particular dire diseases (most often the bubonic plague, or "Black Death," as it is sometimes known). They say an infected person's sneeze was sure sign he'd soon be pushing up daisies, thus the "Bless you!" was intended as a benediction to the nearly-departed, a way of commending his soul to the care of God now that he was beyond the help of anything in the mortal world.

Answer 3

If you sneeze on me and you do not say your sorry , you will be needing a little blessing form God when I am done with you. The last guy who sneezed on me is now known as toothless Bob. I did not want to knock out his teeth , he left me no choice the lousy sneezing scoundrel. He sneezed all over my newest coat and when he tried to wipe it off he just smeared it all over. Well I had enough of his nastiness and I started methodically punching his face. I made him suffer by starting with his forehead . You know how that makes your head hurt when you take a good one to the forehead. Well why he was reeling in pain form that blow I placed the next one to his right temple so that he could see a few stars with his pain. The next one was too his chin , a nice upper cut to loosen his teeth, then I hit him with a really powerful left hook that took out nearly every tooth in the front of his head. Now you know why we say "sorry" and "God Bless".

Answer 4

If you say sorry, it's probably because your mouth and nose weren't fully covered when you sneezed, and you might have sprayed someone near you. We say God bless because back in the day (middle ages, I think) people believed that a tiny piece of your soul escaped your body every time you sneezed.

Answer 5

The answer is really quite interesting a friend of mine actually gave me the answer a while back. It is a scientific fact that when you sneeze your heart stops, but only for that exact second then it continues its normal function. You are supposed to say "Bless you" as a kinda of prayer for the person as they are in between the state of life and death. You say "Sorry" because u presume that the person is sick and are offering condolences.

Answer 6

A long time ago it was believed when you sneezed your soul would leave you body . Saying bless you or god bless you would keep it in the body

Answer 7

Because a long time ago, people in England were very superstitious. They thought that when you sneeze you soul temporarily came out of your body and that the devil would try to steal it. So, people would say "God bless you!" so that the soul of that person would be safe.

Answer 8

You may not know this, but when someone sneezes their heart stops for 1 millisecond of a millisecond; and that is the reason why we say god bless or sorry.

Answer 9

I always grew up with that habit, and I think it started originally because when you sneeze, your heart stops for a second, and you could die; however my husband had another opinion. He makes fun of peaple that says "Bless You", or "God Bless". He usually always makes a cross and says "domino nabisco shredded wheat" when someone says that to him (or if it's a perfect stranger, he says "excuse me" when he sneezes) because only God is the only one who can "bless" someone. We just say nothing round here.

Answer 10

Actually, it was believed that a demon was taking your soul if you sneezed. You said God Bless to get rid of the demon. I think you say Sorry when someone yawns because, again, you are allowing their soul to escape.