Sneeze! Bless You...

Do you say "bless you" when someone sneezes?
Do you think it's rude if someone doesn't say it?

I find myself not saying it most of the time because contrary to the antiquated notion, your soul isn't escaping out of you when you sneeze. And since I don't say it when you burp, cough, or fart either, why should I say it when you sneeze? But I will admit, the commentator in my brain thinks about it for a second when I am the only one in the company of a stranger in a small room. The social expectation of it sometimes gets the better of me and I end up hating myself for having said it.

Your thoughts on saying "bless you"...



[Edited on Jul 24, 2005 by theSpotlessMind]

*Obligatory "Seinfeld" reference*

I've never said "bless you" in my life. It's petty and annoying. In fact, I despise the whole concept along with all those who practice it.

My argument against "bless you" is based on its tendency to provide a double disruptiveness. Take, for instance, a class room environment (this can easily be swapped for the cinema). Person 1 sneezes. Now, this sneeze is disruption 1, i.e., it is a noise which interferes with the goings-on of the class room (or theater). This, for me, is already problematic. But, as if this weren't enough, now person 2 says, "bless you." This, my friends, is disruption 2. So, person 2 unnecessarily contributes to the disruptiveness of person 1 by providing the petty "bless you."

thats awesome, you should keep doing it until it becomes the new global 'bless you'

I think it's a nice thing to say. If you're in a cinema though and yell it out to someone on the other side of the cinema, then that's cause for lynching.

I can't say it to strangers. Too weird. Let them suffer.

Ha! I love this!

I friggin hate it. I certainly don't say "damn you" whem somebody flatulates...at least, not out loud. There's no need for someone to verbally acknowledge my bodily functions. In the most severe case...all I'd like from you is a tissue if I happen to shotgun some mucus in the process. Barring that, just let my sneeze disappear into the stratosphere unnoticed, thanky you very much.

Hm... I, on the other hand, never wasted my time obsessing over the whole issue.

FYI: The practice of saying bless you dates back to early India. It was believed that part of your soul leaves your body everytime you sneeze. You are not blessing the person as much as you are the soul that is going off to wherever we go when we pass on.

Now I have to go snort a gagger of pepper, BYE!

dutch people say gezondheid, meaning health, which makes a lot more sense than blessing someone.

Bless you both


[Edited on Jul 24, 2005 by KorbenDallas]

I know a couple of people who will say "bless me" after they sneeze if a couple of seconds pass with no one blessing them...

I say " EeeeeWw Gross !!!! " and take a few steps back.

I've always found it annoying when people bless me. Who are you to bless me? Dunno, I'm weird like that.

I obsessively say "bless you" when people sneeze. It's simply polite, and it's one of those small niceties that makes the world a little more pleasant to live in. I don't give a shit where it came from, it's a cultural norm that I see nothing wrong with adopting it even though I'm an ardent atheist.

I say bless you when people sneez, and I say, "good luck" when someone coughs.

[Edited on Jul 24, 2005 by FridgeMagnet]

Oh, and don't forget person 2 saying, "you're welcome." It never ends....

Those folks may be angels in disguise !

i do it to be polite, but i don't think the majority of people realize the history behind it...

I met some Canadians in a hostel and apparently nobody up there says it. We had a discussion about how silly Americans are


but I say it.. I mean i don't want to be responsible for anyones heart stopping

Yep, Americans are sure silly. And the French are a bunch of cowards, and the British are ugly and Jamaicans have a lot of jobs, and the Chinese are great at science and math, and the Canadians sit around watching hockey and saying ooot.

It also makes sense if you think about the fact that not so long ago:

A) People didn't know about germs.
B) The flu could quite easily be fatal.

So, a few hundred years ago, when you heard someone sneeze, you really meant it when you said "bless you!"

Same with me. Hell, I even say "bless you" when a dog or cat sneezes. It's just instinctual.

As a Canadian, I have to disagree. Lots of people say it here. "Gesundheit" was also common for me as a kid, but my grandfather was German.

That being said, I resist saying the phrase and prefer people to not say it to me, but sometimes it cant be avoided.