i just don't get it. don't people do far more important things to be blessed for? i have a bad back and when i sneeze it hurts quiet a bit, it dont feel like a blessing.
2007-11-25 11:00:26 · 11 answers · asked by earnhearttx2000 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Etiquette
Medieval traditions aside, my mother told me that it's polite to say "Bless you" when someone sneezes because in doing so you're politely acknowledging that they just made a noise and they don't have to be embarrassed about it. You're basically saying, "It's okay that you sneezed, everybody sneezes, it's a normal biological function."
2007-11-25 13:02:18 · answer #1 · answered by Albuquerque 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It goes back to medieval times when people thought that the soul might escape through a sneeze. They said "bless you" in hopes that didn't happen. There are many social sayings that go back to previous times. Some just stick. It's a nice saying. Don't stress over it and say thank you.
2007-11-25 11:36:59 · answer #2 · answered by dawnb 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The most recent reason for "bless you" in response to a sneeze is as was mentioned before.
In the time of the Bubonic Plague, sneezing was a sign of the sickness so in response people would try to bless the sufferer by intoning God for their good health. It's carried over to present day as more courtesy.
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2007-11-25 11:17:10 · answer #3 · answered by augustrose 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Long ago, when people sneezed, it was thought that the soul left the body. Therefore, the need for the blessing to assure the return of the soul to the body (and thus continuing to live).
Sorry about your back. Perhaps a little blessing would help that. God bless you!
2007-11-25 11:06:54 · answer #4 · answered by Carol K 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
When you sneeze, your heart stops beating for that second - so people say bless you so that you will keep breathing. You can actually die from sneezing
2007-11-25 11:40:49 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Bless you comes from when you try to sneeze it is rumored that your soul is trying to escape and when people say bless you it is because you are still alive.
2007-11-25 11:05:12 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
Every time you sneeze it is said that your heart stops beating . So when they say "God bless you", your breath is gained back.
2007-11-25 11:06:23 · answer #7 · answered by cocoamoe 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It is from the time of the plague, when a person showed signs of being sick others would say "god bless you" as a prayer that both they would not get sick and the person showing the signs didn't have the plague (black death)
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2007-11-25 11:03:42 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋
a number of possible origins are commonly given. The practice of blessing a sneeze, relationship as a procedures back as a minimum of seventy seven advert, in spite of the fact that, is a lot older than maximum specific reasons can account for. -One clarification holds that the custom initially started out as an certainly blessing. Gregory I grew to alter into Pope in 590 as a plague of the bubonic plague substitute into achieving Rome. In hopes of struggling with off the affliction, he ordered endless prayer and parades of chanters throughout the streets. on the time, sneezing substitute into theory to be an early symptom of the plague. The blessing ("God bless you!") grew to alter right into a typical attempt to halt the affliction. -A version of the Pope Gregory I tale places it with Pope Gregory VII, then tells the common (nevertheless untrue) tale of "Ring around the Rosey" being related to the comparable plague. -A legend holds that it substitute into believed that the middle stops once you sneeze, and the word "bless you" is meant to make certain the return of existence or to inspire your heart to proceed beating. yet another version says that individuals used to have faith that your soul may be thrown out of your physique once you sneeze, that sneezing in any different case opened your physique to invasion with the help of the devil or evil spirits,or that sneezing substitute into your physique's attempt to tension out an invading evil spirit. subsequently, "bless you" or "God bless you" is used as a form of look after against evil. nonetheless, it might desire to be possible that the word started out in basic terms as a reaction for an experience that wasn't nicely understood on the time.yet another perception is that individuals used to work out sneezing as an indication that G-d might answer your prayers or an omen of stable fortune or stable success. consequently, "Bless you" may be in acceptance of that success.
2016-11-12 19:38:10 · answer #9 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
When a sneeze occurs,it interrups our heart beat,so GBY is a term that is used ...
2007-11-25 12:46:57 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋