where did the term 'bless you' come from?

Question

i heard from someone that it was because when the plague was happening, one of the signs was excessive sneezing so the people thought that whenever someone would sneeze, they were getting the disease so they would say bless you so they wouldn't get sick.
does anyone know if this was true, if not where is it derived from? just wondering, ahah
thanks!

Answer 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.


Superstition
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. Due to this some people believe that it is unlucky to say thank you, as this allows the evil to return.
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.


Modern use
In many English-speaking countries, the German equivalent, gesundheit (which means "Health"), is used after sneezing or coughing.

Answer 2

When I was growing up, I was taught that people would say "God Bless You" after sneezing because they thought that when you sneeze, the force of the sneeze makes your heart stop for a second, so you bless the person who sneezed. Funny, huh? And we still do it!

Answer 3

I actually did a paper on this saying and others while I was in collage and the only answer I could find about the origin of "Bless You",is the one you have stated.

Answer 4

the version of the bless you story was when u sneeze ur heart stop for a millisec so when u sneeze they say bless u as a way of saying DONT DIE!!!!

Answer 5

I don't know where it came from but I was always taught to say "God bless you" because at that moment of sneeze you aren't breathing for that moment. So, God bless you that you live.

or check this out...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bless_you

Answer 6

I heard it was an old Irish thing that meant you were sneezing the sickness from you.

Answer 7

i was told it was a pagan custom. they believed that when a person sneezed they were expelling an evil spirit. so they said bless you, because you'd gotten rid of an evil.

Answer 8

when people sneeze it is believed that you and your soul are split apart for a moment, so the term god bless you is so you wouldnt lose your soul.

Answer 9

yea, i heard the plague story as well...so im stickin with that

Answer 10

dont know