2006-12-28 09:35:25 · 10 answers · asked by Livin in Maine 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Etiquette
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.
The connection of sneezing to the plague is not the first association of sneezing with death. According to Man, Myth, and Magic: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Mythology, Religion and the Unknown, many cultures, even some in Europe, believe that sneezing expels the soul--the "breath of life"--from the body. That doesn't seem too far-fetched when you realize that sneezing can send tiny particles speeding out of your nose at up to 100 miles per hour!
2006-12-28 09:48:37 · answer #1 · answered by waste_of_paintx 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The belief is that your heart stops beating every time you sneeze, therefore people began saying 'God bless you' when a person sneezed either to ensure they would live through it and their heart would beat again or in case they died they would be blessed. Something like that.
2006-12-28 09:41:15 · answer #2 · answered by jujube 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It comes from the early days of Christianity in Ireland. The belief was that if a virgin sneezed three times without being blessed, the people of Faery could kidnap her.
The German tradition was to say "health", meaning health for oneself, rather than the sneezer.
2006-12-28 15:06:40 · answer #3 · answered by m. b 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Back in the "old days", Germans believed that when you sneeze, your SOUL may come out of your body. So they say "God bless you" whenever somebody sneezes to keep their soul in their body.
2006-12-28 10:12:53 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
There is a supersition that whenever you sneeze, Bad luck comes out of you. Thay say "God bless you" so that bad luck won't get back to you an get sick again.
2006-12-28 09:44:50 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The declaring I heard, reported that interior the days of the plague, once you sneezed, human beings concept little devils were escaping you. with the help of declaring "God Bless You", you'll kills those devils beforehand they could do any damage.
2016-12-01 06:48:42 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Some believed as another answerer put it that your heart could stop. There are two more superstitions one being that you had a contagious disease (brought on by evil) or that it was merely bad luck and that only God was powerful enough to reverse the negativity. Now, it has become more of a "tradition" to say "God Bless You!" I have added web links.
http://philosopedia.org/index.php?title=SUPERSTITION
2006-12-28 09:53:47 · answer #7 · answered by Alletery 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i have always hearde that sayin that began a long time ago and people would say "God bless you" b/c ur heart skips a beat and that gives a chance for demons to jump in your body so people say god bless to protect u from the demons
sounds crazy but thats how it began
2006-12-28 13:13:13 · answer #8 · answered by :) his girl 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
from an old wives tale. It drives me crazy.
2006-12-28 11:12:01 · answer #9 · answered by Dizney 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
whenever you sneeze, you are expelling part of the devil in you!!!!!
2006-12-28 10:14:01 · answer #10 · answered by handyman 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋