I find it awkward everytime someone says it
2007-08-20 16:09:54 · 10 answers · asked by daniel 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Etiquette
It goes way back to ancient times. Back then, when someone sneezed, they thought your soul was being released. When they saw that they were fine, they said "God bless you," cuz the person that sneezed didnt lose their soul.
2007-08-20 16:19:35 · answer #1 · answered by Eat Pie and Live 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
If I remember this correctly this is a custom that started in the middle ages. People believed that a sneeze was the devil's way of possessing a soul, so they would say "God Bless You" in an attempt to ward off the devil. Since this time, it's been ingrained in our culture that the meaning has been lost in time, but we still do it for no reason at all.
You don't really need to feel awkward when someone says it. Just understand where it comes from smile and say thanks.
2007-08-20 16:20:29 · answer #2 · answered by tinydancer42001 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
A tradition form the middle ages. It was believed that your spirit left the body during a sneeze. People who cared would rush to say "God bless you" before you were possessed by an evil spirit. Now it just good manners to say something when someone sneezes. Alot of other custom will say something referring to good health.
2007-08-20 16:30:35 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because back in the olden days people believed that when you sneezed that your soul was trying to escape and that saying God Bless You would trap it back inside.
2007-08-20 16:18:30 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Well, my teacher said that people used to think that every time you sneezed, you sneezed your soul or spirit out of your body and by saying "God bless you", it would bring it back in.
Hope that helped! :D
2007-08-20 16:18:45 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Because it was thought (long ago) that the heart stops when a person sneezes.
2007-08-20 16:18:01 · answer #6 · answered by Love2Laugh 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I don't say it because I don't believe my soul will escape my body and need to be "blessed" back into my body. I guess its just a tradition.
2007-08-20 16:17:42 · answer #7 · answered by LA Law 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Some people do it just because they learned to do it from their parents or whomever and because they feel it is good manners. Here are a few links with explanations:
http://www.snopes.com/language/phrases/blessyou.asp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bless_you
http://www.netlaputa.ne.jp/~tokyo3/e/sneeze_e.html
And to add in a little humor:
http://www.pauldavidson.net/2004/06/10/bless-you-or-cough-it-easy/
2007-08-20 16:30:24 · answer #8 · answered by apmama2four 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
i used to say bless you but now i say blush you
2007-08-20 16:49:05 · answer #9 · answered by Giggle Bear 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Because for that brief moment in time you are technically dead...
2007-08-20 16:31:54 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋