Why do people say "bless you" when you sneeze?

Question

I heard it was something about the devil.

Answer 1

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.


[edit] 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:

Oxford University Biology Professor, Bindi Perkins suggests: When you need to sneeze, it helps to look at a brighter light or at the sun. Looking at a bright light or at the sun can direct light up into the nasal cavity which in-turn reflects light from the dust particles up into your cerebral membrane. It is here that the sneezing mechanism is triggered.

The belief that the heart stops when you sneeze, and the phrase "bless you" is meant to ensure the return of life or to encourage your heart to continue beating. (Of course, the heart beats because of electrical pulses that are not affected by normal functions like sneezing.)

According to Jamie Hay (2007): 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. In Ireland if you say 'Thank you' a leprechaun dies. In other countries a fairy dies.
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.
In his latest book, sneezing expert Justin Frankel (2007), speculates Flatulating, Burping and Sneezing all at the same time results in the sudden onset of death.

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. During a sneeze the impulses travel through your face causing your eyelids to blink, this response is entirely automatic.

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


[edit] Alternative intent
One other usage of the phrase "Bless you" in response to a sneeze is to bless or thank a person who sneezes but covers his or her mouth and nose with a tissue, handerkerchief, sleeve, or even a hand (hopefully then washing the hands before touching shared items) as an act of concern and courtesy to others, in order to avoid spreading the germs expelled so as not to sicken other people. Presumably, a person who fails to demonstrate such concern and courtesy by not covering the mouth and nose during a sneeze would not be blessed or thanked.

Answer 2

Your heart stops beating for a second when you sneeze. Many cultures believe that a sneeze is a gift from God and one should not try to stop a sneeze. It is also believed that in that moment when your heart stops beating part of your soul is out of your body and the devil can take that opportunity to enter your body. So "God Bless you" is said to chase away the devil.

Answer 3

Why Do People Say God Bless You When You Sneeze

Answer 4

Oxford University Biology Professor, Bindi Perkins suggests: When you need to sneeze, it helps to look at a brighter light or at the sun. Looking at a bright light or at the sun can direct light up into the nasal cavity which in-turn reflects light from the dust particles up into your cerebral membrane. It is here that the sneezing mechanism is triggered.

The belief that the heart stops when you sneeze, and the phrase "bless you" is meant to ensure the return of life or to encourage your heart to continue beating. (Of course, the heart beats because of electrical pulses that are not affected by normal functions like sneezing.)

According to Jamie Hay (2007): 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. In Ireland if you say 'Thank you' a leprechaun dies. In other countries a fairy dies.

Answer 5

Back in the Medieval times, when you sneezed, it was believed that for that split second, your soul left your body. Being soul-less, that would allow the devil to enter your body and take over. So, people said "Bless You" as a way to prevent the devil from entering your body as the soul left.

Answer 6

In Medieval times, people were told that the act of sneezing was the body getting rid of harmful spirits, ethers, and the like.
The "blessing" of a person who sneezed was to decrease the probability that which was expelled would re-enter the body.
So, in actuallity, the act of saying bless you would tend to increase the remainder of the populace's chances of contracting the bad thing.... Pretty silly but harmless so everyone does it as a habit.

Answer 7

I was always told that when the plague hit, the first sign was sneezing. If you did get the plague you would die, it was that simple at the time so if somone sneezed, even though there could be many reasons, people responded with "God bless you." Of course in the current politically correct world, God has been dropped.

Answer 8

because people used to say that when you sneeze, it's a sign of the devil. So, by saying 'bless you' it's cleansing your soul of the devil or something.

Answer 9

Sneezing was considered an early symptom of 'black death' or the plague, which many people believed was brought on by the 'demons' which invaded your body.

So people said "God Bless You" when you sneezed and, of course, the short version is just "Bless You".

Answer 10

Well, I always thought it meant God bless you with health because a sneeze is a sign of illness.....like a cold or a flu....no? So, its polite to say "bless you".