why do you say bless you when someone sneezes?

Answer 1

it could be politeness or just god damn old wives tales just like your face will stay like that if the wind do change

Answer 2

Wishing someone well after they sneeze probably originated thousands of years ago. The Romans would say "Jupiter preserve you" or "Salve," which meant "good health to you," and the Greeks would wish each other "long life." The phrase "God bless you" is attributed to Pope Gregory the Great, who uttered the phrase in the sixth century during a bubonic plague epidemic (sneezing is an obvious symptom of one form of the plague).

The exchangeable term "gesundheit" comes from Germany, and it literally means "health." The idea is that a sneeze typically precedes illness. It entered the English language in the early part of the 20th century, brought to the United States by German-speaking immigrants.

For the most part, the various sneeze responses originated from ancient superstitions. Some people believed that a sneeze causes the soul to escape the body through the nose. Saying "bless you" would stop the devil from claiming the person's freed soul. Others believed the opposite: that evil spirits use the sneeze as an opportunity to enter a person's body. There was also the misconception that the heart momentarily stops during a sneeze (it doesn't), and that saying "bless you" was a way of welcoming the person back to life.

We now know that sneezing is a reflex action and is most often the sign of something relatively benign, such as a cold or allergy. A sneeze also can be provoked by being outside in the sunlight or from smelling a strong odor. Still, we persist in the custom of saying "bless you" or "gesundheit," mainly out of habit and common courtesy.

Answer 3

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 blessing. 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.

ther explanations are based on superstitions and urban legends about sneezing and what a sneeze entails. Some well known superstitions that may have contributed to bringing "bless you" into common use are:

* The heart stops when you sneeze (it doesn't), and the phrase "bless you" is meant to ensure the return of life or to encourage your heart to continue beating.
* A sneeze is the expulsion of some sort of evil, and the phrase is meant to ward off the evil's re-entry.
* Your soul can be thrown from your body when you sneeze, and saying "bless you" prevents your soul from being stolen by Satan or some evil spirit. Thus, "bless you" or "God bless you" is used as a sort of shield against evil.
* A sneeze is good luck and saying "bless you" is no more than recognition of the sneezer's luckiness.

Alternatively, it may be possible that the phrase began simply as a response for an event that wasn't well understood at the time.

Another urban legend states that you cannot open your eyes while you sneeze, or if you manage to your eyes will pop out. Both of the statements are untrue.

Answer 4

In English-speaking countries, it is common for at least one person to say "God bless you" (or just "Bless you") after someone sneezes. This tradition originates from the Middle Ages, when it was believed that when one sneezed, the heart stops, the soul left the body and could be snatched by an evil spirit.[

Answer 5

This goes back to the time of the black death (plaque) i the 1600s...the first sign that you had the disease was sneezing.So the only thing people could say was "Bless You" knowing that the person was going to die.
Ring a Ring a Roses rhyme also originated about this time

Ring a Ring a Roses
A pocket full of poses
Atichoo Atichoo we all fall down

The pocket full of poses refering to the small bunches of herbs people used to carry to ward off the plague
the pretend sneezing also refering to the plaque and falling down people dying of it

Answer 6

There once was a belief that when a person sneezes, the devil was trying to take that person's soul. So anyone who was around the 'sneezer' would say 'God Bless you" to scare the devil away. Over the years, that just kind of shrank down to 'Bless you'.

Answer 7

Incongru is right, this goes back to the black death or plague.

Anyone who sneezed was almost certainly going to die soon!

They had got the killer germs in their system.

There was no cure, as they didn't understand medicine properly or have good medical care.

The only thing anyone could do was to attempt to show sympathy in the form of the 'bless you' greeting.

Answer 8

Hey once when I used to work at this manufacturing place this old man told me....I think its a folk tale i;m not sure ....about that ...he said that when a person sneezes a bit of their soul escapes and some one says bless you to bless the soul....yeah I thought the same thing....whatever.....

Answer 9

it went back to the black plague, the first symptom was a sneeze so if you sneezed people said bless you in respect as it ment you had caught it,and would therfor die

Answer 10

some people once believed that when you sneezed you left your body open to evil spirits. they could enter the body but when a person says bless you it protects you from the evil spirit.

Answer 11

It,s a form of empathy although we are not experiencing it at the time we know what it feels like especially in a crowded room. so it helps to make the the person who sneezes feel better and not to embarrassed.