When you sneeze and someone says bless you what does that mean?!


Question: When you sneeze and someone says bless you what does that mean!?
Answers:
I have heard several reasons and they are:

1) Because a long time ago people thought that when you sneezed, part of your soul was escaping!. Or that you were releasing demons!.

2) Because a sneeze was the first sign of the plague in the 14th century, when people sneezed it was taken as being that they were sick and probably going to die Hence, 'God Bless You', now bless you!.

3)"It comes from the idea that you are sneezing out your soul!." To say "God bless" is, in effect, asking God to restore it!.
Of course, most people would probably agree that to believe that the soul escapes your body during a sneeze is irrational!.

4)The phrase "God bless you" is attributed to Pope Gregory the Great who was said to have first uttered the phrase in the 6th century during a bubonic plague epidemic!.
But the earliest citation of the phrase is much earlier and is mentioned in Pliny's 'Natural History' written in AD77 where he writes "!.!.!.why is it that we salute a person when he sneezes!.!.!.!."(so obviously he didn't know either)

5) When a person sneezed that their heart stopped beating thus giving the Devil a chance to take their souls!. God Bless You was apparently said to ward off the Devil and protect the sneezer from evil!. Seems far fetched and it has been years since I read the article that contained this information!.

Nowadays, I think we say it because it comes naturally, almost like a tradition!. :)Www@Answer-Health@Com

It means I hope your sneeze is not the forerunner of something more serious!. Also a hint of superstition, like throwing a pinch of the salt over your shoulder for good luck!.Www@Answer-Health@Com

The reason people say bless you when you sneeze is because if you sneeze that usally means your getting sick with a cold or something so they say "bless you" by meaning god bless you so that you don't get sick!.Www@Answer-Health@Com

In the olden days, people thought that the soul came out of the nose when someone sneezed!. They would say "God bless you!" so that their soul would return!. It's just become habit today to say "bless you" when someone sneezes!.Www@Answer-Health@Com

Supposedly, sneezing makes the heart pause for a tiny millisecond, so people say, "God bless you" because your heart started again and you survived the sneeze!.Www@Answer-Health@Com

It's comes from back in the day before they knew what sneezes actually were!. People thought that a sneeze was a sign that you were about to die and they would bless you!.Www@Answer-Health@Com

It comes from ancient times!.People used to believe that when a person sneezed part of their soul left them and they would say "bless you" to help ensure that it would go to a good place!.Www@Answer-Health@Com

I've heard that it comes from the days of the plague!. Sneezing, so I've been told, was a symptom of the disease, and a quick blessing was required in order that the person would not die unblessed!.Www@Answer-Health@Com

When you sneeze, your whole body just stops!. You say "God bless you" because your wanting God to bless you that your body is working again!.Www@Answer-Health@Com

When you sneeze your soul supposedly leaves your body and saying "Bless you" sends it back in to your body!.Www@Answer-Health@Com

It's an English expression; means thanks for blowing snot all over!.Www@Answer-Health@Com

I asked my sister that once!. She says it's to keep the evil spirits away!. I was like!.!.!.!. ok!.!.!.!.Www@Answer-Health@Com





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