Where does the term "Bless you" come from?

Question

There seem to be a lot of opinions about how the term originated.

When I was in school I learned it came from the time of the Plague in England as sneezing was one of the first symptoms. So they were basically saying "I hope you don't die"

Since moving to America I have heard a whole load of other reasons for it relating to spirits and demons.

I just checked wikipedia and they seem to agree with me
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bless_you

Where does this demon idea come from?

Is the demon thing just something Americans invented?

Oh and I didn't hear "God Bless you" until I moved here either. It was always just "Bless you"

Answer 1

All the standard reasons that people have learned seem to be wrong, at least in the details. Since, as Wikipedia and Snopes point out, the custom existed among the pagan greeks it didn't arise from the plague. This falls in the same category as Ring Around the Rosie- it isn't from the era of the Black Death. Nor did arise originally from Christian views of God. Unless it died out after the pagan Greek era and was born again in later days, it's an age old custom.
I'd imagine it arose because people needed something polite to say. When someone has a sudden, obvious combination of noise and motion like sneezing, you feel like you have to say something. Not acknowledging it seems awkward. It's nothing embarassing like passing gas for which there is no polite acknowledgment. But sneezing can be a sign of illness or discomfort and it's only natural that something be said to smooth over the interruption and let the person sneezing know that you are mildly concerned about his or her health. Most cultures have a response- usually it's just a wish for good health. Though some say it's a sign someone's thinking about you. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sneeze#In_other_languages

The answer's shrouded in distant history, but the social reasons for saying something are pretty clear.

Answer 2

The custom of saying "God bless you" after a sneeze was begun literally as a blessing. Pope Gregory the Great (540-604 AD) ascended to the Papacy just in time for the start of the plague (his successor succumbed to it). Gregory (who also invented the ever-popular Gregorian chant) called for litanies, processions and unceasing prayer for God's help and intercession. Columns marched through the streets chanting, "Kyrie Eleison" (Greek for "Lord have mercy"). When someone sneezed, they were immediately blessed ("God bless you!") in the hope that they would not subsequently develop the plague. All that prayer apparently worked, judging by how quickly the plague of 590 AD diminished.

Answer 3

came from the time of the Plague in England as sneezing was one of the first symptoms. So they were basically saying "I hope you don't die"

Answer 4

The demon idea is just a load of poop. I have had people say to me as an atheist "Why do you say Bless you or Bless your heart" (I am from the south and we usually say Bless their heart before we say or think something mean and spiteful about them)and my answer is "as an atheist I am not without manners, Bless your heart".

Answer 5

I had heard that sneezing at one point in time was known as "soul coughing" and it was believed that when you sneezed your soul could escape through your nose. People said "god bless you" in hopes that god would push it back in... or something like that.

Answer 6

It originated during the time of the middle ages when the plague was ravishing the populace.

Answer 7

It is G-D bless you, but, people shortened it to Bless you because they are lazy, but I heard that it is because supposedly when yo u sneeze, your heart stops for a second.

Answer 8

Yes. There was supposed to be a probability of your soul escaping your body, hence the saying.

Answer 9

my desires of being on Broadway:my super beginning night,my hiking up the ladder to get to the genuine and grow to be a lead in a revival and being waiting to rub it in others's faces that I made it.