Why do people say "God Bless You" when we sneeze?

Question

I read this question and wanted to reply, but this has already been resolved. So more than just a question, an added information is in order. When we sneeze, our heart stops for a second or 2, so therefore people say God bless you so in case your heart continue to stop, you get your final benediction. :)

Answer 1

Because when you sneeze your heart stops and people say it cause you didn't die.

Answer 2

For the answer to this question, you can refer to an old childrens song "Ring a ring of Roses", children very perceptive to their surroundings came up with a singing rhyme that captured and simplified the cycle of the plague. The reason why the response became second nature is because back in medieval times during the bubonic plague era, sneezing was a symptom of the plague, and generally meant that the person was doomed. The blessing was for the soul soon to be returning to god. The song has significance which is explained thus.

"A ring a ring of roses" (a skin blemish that indicated the onset of the plague)

"A pocketful of posies" (because people with the plague started to smell rank so flowers were placed in their pockets to mask some of the odor)

"Atishoo Atishoo" (Sneezing was another symptom of the plague)

"We all fall down" (Falling down was death)

Answer 3

I learned in psychology that a person's heart stops for a very brief amount of time when that person sneezes. So people say 'God bless you' hoping God blesses you and keeps your heart pumping.

Answer 4

You die for that split second, hence God bless you.

Origin. Ancient man believed that his breath was also his soul or "essence of life." When God made man, he "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life." A rapid departure of that breath--a sneeze--is the same as expelling life from one's body. Also, it leaves a vacuum in the head which evil spirits can enter. Roman citizens feared sneezing when a plague hit their city during the reign of Pope Gregory the Great. Since they regarded the sneeze as a sure sign of approaching sickness, Pope Gregory in situated the use of the phrase "God bless you" to shield sneezers from any ill effects.

Answer 5

I have heard that the reason you say god bless you when you sneeze is that long ago in the 1600 and 1700's people had an illness that when you sneezed it meant that you had this killer disease. So it has kept with the sneeze.

Answer 6

There are mainly two reasons, a current time answer and one from a while back ago.

Currently people "Bless you," because when you sneeze your heart skips a beat, which isnt very good for your health hence people say "Bless you"


In midevil times when somebody sneezed people thought that your soul would escape through your nose. Hence they say "God bless you"

Hope it helped!

Answer 7

Why do people say "God Bless You" when we sneeze?
who ever said the everthing in our body stopped for 1 second or less so when everything stops it's means you are dead and when says God Bless You it does return back you to life if you still have more to live :)

Answer 8

The real reason that people say God bless you after you sneeze is that, it was once thought that when you sneezed, you would lose your soul by demons that would come and steal it from you. People would say God bless you to scare off the demons.

Answer 9

Hey CP I was going to say the same thing about your heart stopping when you sneeze. Heard this answer a long time ago and I see that someone else heard the same thing!

Answer 10

Its because in the medieval times when you sneezed you had a cold (or a plague) and there were no medicines back then so when you sneezed everyone knew you would die. So they would say god bless you because you are about to die.

Answer 11

It is vital to speak a blessing over someone instead of a curse. Sneezing became an opportunity not to miss to bless someone by the word we say. Do not be fooled, whatever we say we will get, whatever we sow we shall reap. So what are you going to say? life or death?