Why do we "God bless" someone when they sneeze?
485432
Claim:   The origin of saying "Bless you!" when someone sneezes stems from an ancient desire to safeguard the sneezer's soul or to commend the dying to the mercy of God. \nStatus:   Undetermined. \n\nOrigins:   It's expected  we'll say "Bless you!" (or "God bless!") when someone nearby sneezes, but does anyone really know why we do this? Are we trying to protect the sneezers from evil spirits? Are we fending off the Devil? Is this a remnant of an ancient recognition that sneezers aren't long for this world, thus we commend their souls to God even as we wash our hands of them? Are we congratulating them on their impending good luck? (As silly as this may sound now, sneezing was at one long-ago time seen as a fortuitous portent.) \n\nSome questions, no matter how simple, don't have one knowable answer. Though a number of "explanations" exist for this custom, nothing points to any one of them being its origin. \n\nCommon among these explanations are: \n\n\nAt one time people believed a man's soul could be inadvertently thrust from his body by an explosive sneeze, thus "Bless you!" was a protective oath uttered to safeguard the temporarily expelled and vulnerable soul from being snatched up by Satan (who was always lurking nearby). The purpose of the oath was to cast a temporary shield over the flung-out soul which would protect it just long enough to regain the protection of the corporeal body. \n\nConversely, the sneeze itself was the expulsion of a demon or evil spirit which had taken up residence in a person. Therefore, although the "Bless you!" was again a protective charm meant to protect the sneezer from evil, in this version it was meant to ward off the re-entry of an evil spirit which a tormented soul had just rid itself of. \n\nThe heart was believed to momentarily stop during a sneeze (it doesn't), thus the "Bless you!" was uttered either as a supplication for life to return or as a congratulation upon its successful restart. \n\nOthers claim an association of the practice with particular dire diseases (most often the bubonic plague, or "Black Death," as it is sometimes known). They say an infected person's sneeze was sure sign he'd soon be pushing up daisies, thus the "Bless you!" was intended as a benediction to the nearly-departed, a way of commending his soul to the care of God now that he was beyond the help of anything in the mortal world. \n\nYet other folks echo the theme of other superstitions about sneezes, that these expulsions are either in themselves lucky or foretell good fortune coming the sneezer's way. For them, the "Bless you!" is a recognition of incoming good luck, possibly even an attempt on the blesser's part to attract a bit of it to himself. \n\nFinally, some see the sneeze as a blessing bestowed by the sneezer upon the sneezed-upon. Answering a sneeze with "Bless you!" is seen as nothing more remarkable than replying "Good morning!" to the person who had just greeted you with the same phrase. \nSo many explanations -- each deeply believed -- for such a simple and often unquestioned practice. And we'll never know which one is right. \n\nWe look to what has been recorded about this practice of blessing a sneezer for any clues to the reasons that prompted its origin. Once again, we are disappointed; although the practice is old enough for mention of it to surface in ancient writings (the earliest from 77 A.D., the generation right after Christ), no one apparently deemed it noteworthy enough to explain why anyone would think to do this. By the time anyone thought to question the reason for the custom, blessing people when they sneeze had already been deeply ingrained in our evolving culture for century upon century. At this point, although folks were quick to assert various reasons for these oaths (talking through one's hat is not
88528
It is an involuntary reaction.  I wonder if it is to keep our eyes from popping out!  But, really, that's just how our brain directs our bodies during such a complex human action.  Do animals close their eyes when they sneeze too?
690354
I would at least rub it immediately against my pants to wipe it hastily. It's probably best to tell the person. The person should know I sneezed if we ran into each other right afterward. I never sneeze in my hands. I always try my best to pull  the collar of my shirt to sneeze inside it. Germs don't spread as much.
297698
Sneezing is a reflex action intended for you to relieve somtehing from your air ways.  If the reflex is caused by a strong agent (such as pepper) you can bet that thinking won´t help.  On the other hand, if the agent causing the reflex is not very strong, thinking about anything will make it stop.
538672
due to the sudden jerk you get while you sneeze, you automatically make you body tight and then suddenly it becomes loose. thus the blood pressure increases. \nSometimes people feely giddy due to a sudden and big sneeze. this is because, the brain cannot coincide with the blood pressure. thus it happens. but remember this is all just for quite a fraction of a second. \n\nHope it was clear enough.
670863
It's probably dust. You can clean all you want but dust is still in the air. When you clean your house you are cleaning the dust that has fallen out of the air and landed on furniture. You can't clean your air unless you have a special filter.\n\nDo you have any animals in the house? It could be an allergy to an animal.\n\nDoes it only happen in your house, or other indoor places?\n\nAs far as sneezing fits, that's how it effects some people. There isn't much you can do about it.
141049
Do you mean "why do we close our eyes when we <sneeze>?"?\n\nWhat a wonderful way to phrase that question :-)\n\nYou can find some answers at these sites:
640985
Sneezing helps u to remove an irritation from your nose.It is more of a response than a voluntary action. Like all other involuntary actions in our body sneezing also involves a lot of muscles. Some of these muscles may be involved in the closing of the eye lids. Being an involuntary action we are unable to keep our eyes open when sneezing. \nHowever we do find yogis who have control on many of their muscles - may be they will be in a better position to keep their eyes open when sneezing.\n\nOn the lighter side - what do you really expect to see when u are sneezing!!!!!
893428
"Odaijini" (take care of yourself), if anything at all.  We don't have a custom of saying something to someone who have just sneezed.  The phrase is commonly used for someone who's ill (one assumes that if someone sneezes, that person is catching cold).\n\nThere is a popular belief, though, that if you sneeze, someone somewhere is talking about you.
935672
Say 'Bless you' after someone sneezes. It's supposed to keep the devil at bay. If the Devil doesn't materialise then you'll know it worked.
56092
Bless you is a common English expression used to wish a person well after sneezing. There are many theories regarding the origin of this custom. One well known and strongly believed theory is that it began as a blessing near the start of the Plague of Justinian or one of the more minor plagues which followed with the words of Pope Gregory the Great. Crowds took to the streets praying to God and when a person sneezed they were immediately blessed God bless you! for fear that they may be developing symptoms of the plague. Many of the other theories are based on superstitions and urban legends about sneezing and what a sneeze entails. Some well known superstitions that may have brought the phrase bless you into common use are:\n\nThe heart stops when you sneeze (it doesn't), and the phrase bless you was meant to ensure the return of life or to encourage your heart to continue beating. \nA sneeze is the expulsion of some sort of evil, and the phrase was meant to ward off the evil's re-entry. \nYour soul can be thrown from your body when you sneeze, and saying bless you prevents your soul from being stolen by Satan or some evil spirit. Thus, bless you or God bless you was used as a sort of shield against evil. \nA sneeze is good luck, and saying "bless you" was no more than recognition of the sneezer's luckiness. \nAlternatively, it may be possible that the phrase began rather uninterestingly as a response for an event that wasn't well understood at the time.\n\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bless_you
352983
Yes. This is a very interesting question and have an answer everyone must know. \n\nWhenever we sneeze, our heart stops. This is the only time in the life (of a living person) when a heart stops. There has been a convention of different cultures around the world to welcome (or say welcome back) just after sneezing. These people don't know why we welcome the person who just sneezed. But the truth is that, he/she just came back from a situation between life and death.
20950
The custom of saying "God bless you" after a sneeze was begun literally as a blessing. Pope Gregory the Great (540-604 AD) ascended to the Papacy just in time for the start of the plague (his successor succumbed to it). When someone sneezed, they were immediately blessed ("God bless you!") in the hope that they would not subsequently develop the plague. All that prayer apparently worked, judging by how quickly the plague of 590 AD diminished.  \n\nIt is also interesting to note that it is impossible to close your eyes when you sneeze, so everytime I sneeze, I try to say a little prayer.
5028
Superstition had it that at the moment of a sneeze, all thoughts are momentarily banished from the concious mind, leaving an opening for the Devil to get in. I think it goes back to the second century.
1008079
Because the pressure of the sneeze, you close your eyes. You can't control them because its something the body controls. Try holding your nose or biting your tongue though if you're about to sneeze. Then you don't.
364841
the term might have come about earlier.. but mostly started being used as it is today around the reformation era, (Martin Luther, John Calvin.) the followers of these denominations believed strongly in "evils" and possession/demons, (early on, not so much today). They believed when you sneezed it was an opening of your soul and body, (which made you weak) this might let "bad" spirits in. So they began to say God bless you, as a way to save the person sneezing from evils. This also explains why the saying exists in many of the areas where "reformed" peoples settled, Germany, England, us, and not in other regions of the world, (Asians do not remark at all, in fact sneezing is offensive.)
164902
people say god bless u b,cos ur heart wil stop for a sec while sneezing.