How did saying, "Bless You " start when someone sneezes. What is the meaning behind it?

Answer 1

There are many theories regarding the origin of this custom.

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

Nevertheless 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 ***, AD 150

Answer 2

Back in the middle ages, sneezing was one of the first signs of the bubonic plague,which killed people off pretty quickly and had a death toll over 25 million people, and the person didn't always have a chance to get their Last Rites, so saying 'bless you ' when one sneezed came about as an ultra shortened verison of Last Rites.And some cultures believe that when you sneeze, you soul escapes, so saying bless you was meant to keep your soul where it belonged

Answer 3

Bless you is a common English expression used to wish a person well after sneezing.

There are many theories regarding the origin of this custom.

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

Answer 4

I have heard that this began because of the belief that once someone sneezed, immediately afterward there is usually a sense of light headiness. This was believed to be the person's soul temporarily leaving their body. A person would then say "God bless you" as a means of keeping evil out of the person's body so their soul could return peacefully.

Answer 5

"God Bless You" - way back in the day, it was believed that a sneeze was very close to death, as you can't see, hear, speak, or even control the sneeze itself. By saying "God Bless You!!", it was believed that you wouldn't die after all, since God would Bless You and let you live through the sneeze.

Answer 6

I never hear the plague thing. My understanding was it comes from the old belief that some people had regarding your soul.

People used to think that when you sneezed that you blew out your soul for a moment. The "Bless You" was supposed to protect your body from an evil spirit trying to take your body before your soul could get back into it.

?????

That's just what I heard.

Answer 7

I believe people say god bless you,bless you when you sneeze because it has become a form of respect to one another as well as religious morality.
when a person sneezes there heart stops for that moment they also say when you sneeze your soul is trying to escape ,so its a way of recieving blessing through the holy spirit and overcoming the fear of superstition and truth,weither we need to say it or not i think its nice and its positive and respectful to the lords power .thats just my opinion i dont want to babble on and on sometimes i get caught up.

Answer 8

People thought the 'soul' escaped when one sneezed, because breath stopped and the heart stopped. So 'bless you' prevented malevolent spirits from possessing you.

In the ancient languages the word for 'soul,'
'wind,' 'breath,' and 'spirit' are the same.

"And the Lord God blew the breath of life into the Man and the Man became a living soul..."

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Answer 9

The idea that illness was caused by evil spirits or god's wrath has existed since ancient times. In some cultures, people continue to maintain these beliefs. People began to link microorganisms, germs, bacteria etc. with illness when we were able to develop technologies to observe them (ie. microscopes). Still, people were inclined to superstition. Now, people say "bless you" or "god bless you" when someone sneezes, out of courtesy. This is a tradition derived from the previously stated belief associating illness with evil or god's wrath.

Answer 10

There is a folk lore story in Ireland that says when you yawn or sneeze, you are inviting the devil into your mouth so people used to say "bless you" or make the sign of the cross when you sneezed or yawned to stop the devil getting into you!