Where does the phrase god bless you come from

Good manners dictate that every sneeze should be followed by some variation of "bless you. But have you ever wondered why we do it other than the fact that mama raised us right, that is? Unfortunately, the true origins of this bizarre social convention are a bit murky. But there are plenty of fascinating guesses, and not surprisingly, most of them are based heavily on superstition.

We've all been there: in a room full of people, in a packed elevator or even walking down the street, when the sudden tingling urge for a sneeze comes on. That sneeze often triggers the "sneeze etiquette" -- a mysterious and silent message sent to the people next to you that unconsciously makes them say "bless you. Saying bless you is so ingrained in the American culture that if you sneeze and no one near you acknowledges, it creates a very noticeable, weird feeling. I guess you don't care that I sneezed," is how Elena, a woman from Orlando, Florida, described the awkward post-sneeze silence. For something so deep-seated into the culture, the reasons why we say "bless you" or "God bless you" when someone sneezes are something of a muddled mess with a lot of theories floating around. She's not alone in that theory, one so popular that the Cleveland Clinic and dozens of other medical experts have officially and publicly debunked it. For many years in the Middle Ages, people believed that when you sneezed, your spirit left your body for a second.

Where does the phrase god bless you come from

God bless you variants include God bless or bless you [1] is a common English phrase generally used to wish a person blessings in various situations, [1] [2] especially to "will the good of another person", as a response to a sneeze , and also, when parting or writing a valediction. Numbers , and by Christians, since the time of the early Church as a benediction , as well as a means of bidding a person Godspeed. The locution "God bless you" is used in Christian benedictions. Blessing is the projection of good into the life of another. It isn't just words. It's the actual putting forth of your will for the good of another person. It always involves God, because when you will the good of another person, you realize only God is capable of bringing that. So we naturally say, "God bless you. You invoke God on their behalf to support the good that you will for them. This is the nature of blessing. It is what we are to receive from God and then give to another. National Geographic reports that during the Roman Plague of , " Pope Gregory I ordered unceasing prayer for divine intercession. Part of his command was that anyone sneezing be blessed immediately "God bless you" , since sneezing was often the first sign that someone was falling ill with the plague. Some have offered an explanation suggesting that people once held the folk belief that a person's soul could be thrown from their body when they sneezed, [13] that sneezing otherwise opened the body to invasion by the Devil or evil spirits , [14] [15] or that sneezing was the body's effort to force out an invading evil presence. In some cultures, sneezing is seen as a sign of good fortune or God's beneficence.

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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? 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 exchangeable term "gesundheit" comes from Germany, and it literally means "health. It entered the English language in the early part of the 20th century, brought to the United States by German-speaking immigrants. Virtually every country around the globe has its own way of wishing sneezers well.

Where does the phrase god bless you come from

God bless you variants include God bless or bless you [1] is a common English phrase generally used to wish a person blessings in various situations, [1] [2] especially to "will the good of another person", as a response to a sneeze , and also, when parting or writing a valediction. Numbers , and by Christians, since the time of the early Church as a benediction , as well as a means of bidding a person Godspeed. The locution "God bless you" is used in Christian benedictions. Blessing is the projection of good into the life of another. It isn't just words. It's the actual putting forth of your will for the good of another person. It always involves God, because when you will the good of another person, you realize only God is capable of bringing that. So we naturally say, "God bless you.

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Project Gutenberg. Measure content performance. Toggle limited content width. Was this page helpful? Tools Tools. Only if you are having a sneeze fit, then someone will address your health. National Geographic. Retrieved 17 September Early American Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases. The beginning of this psalm echoes the priestly benediction from Numbers 6: May God bless you and keep you. And if a simple "bless you" just so happens to protect our souls while we're at it, even better.

The phrase is also often used when someone sneezes or does as an act of kindness.

Richard B. Search for:. Some have offered an explanation suggesting that people once held the folk belief that a person's soul could be thrown from their body when they sneezed, [13] that sneezing otherwise opened the body to invasion by the Devil or evil spirits , [14] [15] or that sneezing was the body's effort to force out an invading evil presence. The year , is commonly reckoned the era of the custom of saying "God bless you," to one who happens to sneeze, etc. Use limited data to select advertising. By Meghan Overdeep. So, the thought went, to say "bless you" could bring you back to life and also keep evil spirits from entering you in the instant or two that you were believed to have been gone. Newsletter Sign Up. During the bubonic plague saying "God bless you" offered a desperate prayer for health and protection against the deadly disease. In Rome during the plague of , Pope Gregory I ordered unceasing prayer for divine intercession.