I would say God bless you but that might offend them, is there something else i could say instead?
2006-07-15 19:42:49 · 24 answers · asked by Federico 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Etiquette
No, I don't find it rude. But you can try "gesundheit", a commonly used German word for health.
2006-07-15 22:03:59 · answer #1 · answered by Keyring 7 · 4⤊ 1⤋
You could just bless you, if you are worried about offending anyone.
I think the custom of saying anything at all, specially God bless you, was because in the old days, some people believed that when a person sneezed it gave the Devil a chance to enter your body. Saying God bless you or similar stopped that.
Thats what I heard somewhere anyway......
2006-07-16 02:49:17 · answer #2 · answered by maggie rose 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Bless you, it is not your fault if you don't know what offends them. You shouldn't worry about it. It is the thought that counts. I always say God Bless You. I get offended when people say nothing when I sneeze.
2006-07-16 02:47:10 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's not exactly rude not to say anything, but it's considered one of those niceties that people have grown to expect.
If you're worried about offending a non-Christian, I'd just take the word "God" out of it and say "bless you". Even better, go bilingual and say something like "Gesundheit" or "Salud" or "Salute", all of which are ways to wish the person "health".
Saying "ewwww virus" might be funny, but saying "Excuse you" to someone actually WOULD be offensive, as it sounds quite presumptuous.
2006-07-16 03:07:56 · answer #4 · answered by 1angelcares 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is not rude but; some times when I sneez more than 8 times in a row and some one says bless you every single time it is anoying.
2006-07-16 04:26:03 · answer #5 · answered by trees 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Don't worry about it. I usually don't say anything either..I feel weird saying "God bless you" for some reason. God is gonna bless everyone no matter what. Not just America.
2006-07-16 02:47:12 · answer #6 · answered by Ryan H 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it's not rude not to say anything. it's not like you have to say anything. i think this originates from the myth that evil spirits escape you when you sneeze or something like that. God blesses you if you are His child anyway.
2006-07-17 11:17:47 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hand them a kleenex.
The only people who would be offended are the godbots who "think" if you sneeze and no one says "god bless you", then "satan" can steal their soul.
2006-07-16 02:54:37 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
"Excuse you", "Bless you" Those are nice..........but don't worry about offending them if you are nice enough to say anything to them when they sneeze & they get offended, well then they just weren't worth you excusing in the first place, now were they?
2006-07-16 02:46:44 · answer #9 · answered by Lesley C 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Fake a sneeze or actual sneeze with the person.
2006-07-16 02:46:53 · answer #10 · answered by ? 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't say anything and I am not offended when nobody says anything to me.
Nobody says anything when I cough or hiccup either. Although I say excuse me when I sneeze, hiccup loudly or burp. :)
2006-07-16 02:47:41 · answer #11 · answered by My Avatar 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋