2007-01-27 04:20:20 · 10 answers · asked by ANGIE 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Etiquette
Because a long time ago they believed when you sneezed that your heart stopped and it left you vulnerable to bad spirits, so they say God Bless You in order to protect that person from the bad spirits.
2007-01-27 04:30:19 · answer #1 · answered by Jo 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Origins
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.
Other 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
2007-01-27 08:00:39 · answer #2 · answered by sknymnie 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In the Medieval times it was believed that you soul left your body when you sneezed - so people asked God to bless them. This was to prevent bad spirits entering the body while you sneezed.
2007-01-27 04:26:31 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
They say that your heart skips a beat when you sneeze. I guess people say God Bless You, because you survived it.
2007-01-27 08:53:06 · answer #4 · answered by Tonya W 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This form of etiquette goes back to the Middle Ages. People believed that when you sneezed, your soul left your body. In saying "God Bless You" ,Satan was prevented from taking your soul.
2007-01-27 04:27:55 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
I have heard (don't know if it's actually true) that it is because your heart stops or skips a beat when you sneeze. So people say "bless you" as a sort of "prayer" on your behalf.
2007-01-27 04:26:07 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
when you sneeze, your heart freezes, so people bless you as a kind of prayer
2007-01-27 14:15:35 · answer #7 · answered by Kayla M 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
bcause when you snezee your heart stops so people bless you
2007-01-27 04:24:36 · answer #8 · answered by JJ 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Ask the real Americans why......
2007-01-27 08:37:02 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Apparently, that's one more book you failed to read.
2007-01-27 05:57:17 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋