why always people saying God bless you after you "sneeze"?

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.

Another possible source for "bless you" (which comes out sounding as "blesh-yu" when pronounced quickly) is that it rhymed with "achoo" or "ashoo", and at the same time it had a pleasant meaning. A few other languages and local dialects have similar rhyming expressions. As an example, in the city of Mashhad, located in northeast section of Iran, a sneeze sounded like "hapishi!" and a common rhyming response to it was "pir shi!" which literally meant "get old", implying a prayer for long life.


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 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.)
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. This is, of course, impossible, as your eyes are held in place by multiple sets of muscles and the rather thick optic nerve. 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.

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, handkerchief, 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

In olden times people used to believe that a sneeze was a demon trying to escape from you so they would invoke God's blessing over you. After people had more knowledge of germs they still said 'god bless' you because even colds could have killed in those days. And finally we drop the 'God' and just say 'Bless you' when someone sneezes because it's shorter and people don't like to hear about God.

Answer 3

I think you mean "Why do people always say 'God bless you' after you sneeze?"

Answer 4

"Bless you" when you seneeze it come form the black plague before you know you had it or not people would sneeze and if you had the black plague then you would die and is comes from a child song.

Ring a ring o'roses,
A pocketful of posies.
ah-tishoo, ah-tishoo.
We all fall down.

Now this is why we say bless you because at the end of the song "ah-tishoo" mean sneeze then "we all fall down" means you die.
so in the old days and now to date people say bless you.

Answer 5

these are my ideas-----
1-when someone sneezes his heart stops and saying "God bless you" means "Iim glad your heart started again."
2-saying "God bless you" when you sneeze keeps the devil from flying down your throat.
3-when someone sneezes, say "God bless you and may the devil miss you."
4-when you sneeze your soul tries to escape and saying "God bless you" crams it back in (said by millhouse in an episode of the simpsons).

Answer 6

it was thought that ones heart stopped during a sneeze so god bless you was kind of an " in case" thing.

Answer 7

It was an antient belief, that when you sneeze the soul may leave your body. Thus 'bless you' was to prevent that from happening

Answer 8

The original reason is of course from bygone times. In current society, it is just the polite thing to say. The person may actually be coming down with a cold. So to say "God Bless You", is simply to say "I hope you don't get really ill, and I hope you get well soon."

Answer 9

It comes from the time of the bubonic plague. One of the symptoms of the disease was sneezing. So people said "God bless you" to protect you from the disease.

Answer 10

To stop your soul from escaping through your nose! Haha I remember seeing that in the Rugrats or something lmao