Many people have become accustomed to saying “bless you” or “gesundheit” when someone sneezes. No one says anything when someone coughs, blows their nose or burps, so why do sneezes get special treatment? What do those phrases actually mean, anyway?
No one exactly knows when humans first started saying bless you, but there are some theories.
Wishing someone well after they sneeze probably originated thousands of years ago. The Romans would say “Jupiter preserve you” or “Salve,” which meant “good health to you,” and the Greeks would wish each other “long life.” The phrase “God bless you” is attributed to Pope Gregory the Great, who uttered it in the sixth century during a bubonic plague epidemic (sneezing is an obvious symptom of one form of the plague).
The exchangeable term “gesundheit” comes from Germany,
I was always taught it was polite to say ‘bless you’ when someone sneezes. When you considered the history that Miranda has described and it beginning with the plague, it would be polite and kind to say bless you as a way of wishing someone well and good health.
I always wondered why… I don’t know the origin of “bless you” so whatever I am writing here is purely my hypothesis. Since I observe equivalents of saying “bless you” for sneezing only in other cultures, I think the origins must date back to thousands of years ago. I think sneezing should have been an indicator of a then-deadly disease of ancient years whereas coughing shouldn’t have been a symptom of a deadly disease. Therefore ancient people might have come up with a kind way to indicate their best wishes to sneezing people. Since “Gods” was responsible from everything, especially in ancient time, “bless you” phrase might have originated from religion.
Many people have become accustomed to saying “bless you” or “gesundheit” when someone sneezes. No one says anything when someone coughs, blows their nose or burps, so why do sneezes get special treatment? What do those phrases actually mean, anyway?
No one exactly knows when humans first started saying bless you, but there are some theories.
Wishing someone well after they sneeze probably originated thousands of years ago. The Romans would say “Jupiter preserve you” or “Salve,” which meant “good health to you,” and the Greeks would wish each other “long life.” The phrase “God bless you” is attributed to Pope Gregory the Great, who uttered it in the sixth century during a bubonic plague epidemic (sneezing is an obvious symptom of one form of the plague).
The exchangeable term “gesundheit” comes from Germany,
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I was always taught it was polite to say ‘bless you’ when someone sneezes. When you considered the history that Miranda has described and it beginning with the plague, it would be polite and kind to say bless you as a way of wishing someone well and good health.
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I always wondered why… I don’t know the origin of “bless you” so whatever I am writing here is purely my hypothesis. Since I observe equivalents of saying “bless you” for sneezing only in other cultures, I think the origins must date back to thousands of years ago. I think sneezing should have been an indicator of a then-deadly disease of ancient years whereas coughing shouldn’t have been a symptom of a deadly disease. Therefore ancient people might have come up with a kind way to indicate their best wishes to sneezing people. Since “Gods” was responsible from everything, especially in ancient time, “bless you” phrase might have originated from religion.
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