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Saying “Bless you” after someone sneezes is a reflexive action based on centuries of religion, tradition, and superstition. It is believed to prevent evil spirits from entering the body and ward off diseases. The German “Gesundheit” entered American vernacular through immigration.
For many people, saying “Bless you” or “Gesundheit” after someone else sneezes is a conditioned response or reflexive action. Every time they hear a loud sneeze, the next words to come out of their mouths will be a blessing of some kind. They do so, essentially, because of centuries of religion and tradition. By not saying “Bless you” or anything similar, people may believe they are setting themselves up for an even bigger problem down the road.
From some interpretations of the Judeo-Christian point of view, the heart and mind have nothing on the nostrils: when God decided to create Man from the dust of the Earth, He breathed into Man’s nostrils the spirit of life. In many other religions, the nostrils are considered a gateway between the spiritual and physical worlds. Every time someone sneezes, he might expel some of the life forces or spirits sent by the Creator. By saying “Bless you”, it is believed that evil spirits are prevented from entering the sufferer’s body through the nostrils.
There’s even a theory that, during the Middle Ages and Middle Ages, a hard sneeze was often a harbinger of dreaded diseases like the plague. Whenever someone sneezed, those closest to him or her would impart an instant blessing to ward off evil forces that lead to sickness and suffering. The words were not so much for the health of the sneeze as for the continued good health of anyone who came in contact with the expelled mucus. Some sources say that Pope Gregory I popularized the communal use of blessings as he reflexively blessed those who sneezed in his presence.
The very act of sneezing can also prompt a “bless” response from viewers, especially if it’s a powerful explosion. Some common sneezing rumors suggest that a person’s heart may stop beating, the pressure may induce a stroke, or the eyes may be blown out of their sockets. The immediate response is thought to be an expression of gratitude that the sneezer experienced none of these events. The German blessing, Gesundheit, literally means “May you be called wholesome” and most likely entered the American vernacular as a result of the immigration of Pennsylvania Dutch and other German peoples.
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