2006-09-30 07:32:33 · 19 answers · asked by adhurt 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Etiquette
because it means, your soul is trying to escape from you
2006-09-30 07:34:43 · answer #1 · answered by D 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
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.
2006-10-03 06:06:30 · answer #2 · answered by Thomas H 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I've only used that phrase when someone sneezes. There's an old legend that when a person sneezes, bad spirits are blown out, so you say God bless you, so the spirits don't come to you. Some such thing. I'm not exactly sure about the details, but you can find it in books that tell why people say the things they do. I say it, because my family does, and it seems to be a nice thing to do.
2006-09-30 07:36:46 · answer #3 · answered by inkles1 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We say God bless you because of the ancient belief that your soul was trying to escape when you sneezed. In modern time, however, it has been proven that when you sneeze, your heart stops for 1/10th of a second. So, now, when we say God bless you, I guess it's a kind of prayer that your heart starts beating again...
2006-09-30 07:41:09 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Once upon a time people thought that illness was caused by demons and evil spirits. Sneezing and coughing were signs that either a.) you were infested or b.) your own spirit was trying to get away from the baddies. "God bless you" was supposed to help protect you.
2006-09-30 07:36:49 · answer #5 · answered by N 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The ancients believed that any violent exhalation would cause the eviction of the soul. Thus, anyone sneezing was blessed as he was thought to be in mortal danger. Nor was it politeness that prompted people to cover their mouths when yawning. The gesture was intended to keep the soul in and evil spirits out.
2006-09-30 07:53:02 · answer #6 · answered by Scabius Fretful 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because I want everyone to be blessed all the time you never know when they really need a blessing from someone whether or not it is from a friend or relative.
2006-09-30 07:35:50 · answer #7 · answered by beagirl40 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It started in Ireland I believe, they believed evil spirits made you cough so they would say "bless you" to protect you from further hurt and harm.
2006-09-30 07:35:57 · answer #8 · answered by esoreinna 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We don't. We say bless you or God bless you when a person sneezes.
2006-09-30 07:44:44 · answer #9 · answered by Alison 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You say it when they sneeze... at least most people do. Anyway, it use to be believed that when you sneezed, your body was expelling some kind of evil, so people around you would say "God bless you" in order to avoid that evil entering their own body.
...At least that's what my Sunday school teacher told me when I was little. It makes sense, though.
2006-09-30 07:35:44 · answer #10 · answered by Suraya 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Never heard it about coughing. Sneezing - 'sposed to keep the demons from entering your body and stealing your soul because, when you sneeze, they can get in. Probably another hold-over from pagan ritual.
2006-09-30 07:35:59 · answer #11 · answered by Skeff 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋