# Do you get the "have a blessed day" invocation where you live (and are you bothered by it)? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 13, 2025, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-get-the-have-a-blessed-day-invocation-where-you-live-and-are-you-bothered-by-it/1025667 "2025-12-13T15:48:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2025, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-get-the-have-a-blessed-day-invocation-where-you-live-and-are-you-bothered-by-it/1025667/41 "2025-12-13T19:21:28Z")
I found out later in life she cursed like a sailor. She cleaned up her language for us kids. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2025, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-get-the-have-a-blessed-day-invocation-where-you-live-and-are-you-bothered-by-it/1025667/42 "2025-12-13T19:23:12Z")
Go back and read my post. No doubt it’s technically true that probably very few users say it to spite atheists. And no doubt that equally few atheists think so. Nevertheless both statements are so astronomically far from the point that they can’t be seen with telescopes. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2025, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-get-the-have-a-blessed-day-invocation-where-you-live-and-are-you-bothered-by-it/1025667/43 "2025-12-13T19:34:57Z")
> [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](#): > > I say Gesundheit when others sneeze. Always have, reflex action now. I grew up in Chicago, where it was pretty common (plus which I’m partly of German descent). Seems less common in NY Hudson Valley, where I live now and where “bless you “ is much more frequent. I once worked with someone who would say “Hail Satan” when a coworker sneezed. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2025, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-get-the-have-a-blessed-day-invocation-where-you-live-and-are-you-bothered-by-it/1025667/44 "2025-12-13T19:44:52Z")
Unless you go around with a sign that says “I’m an atheist” how would a store clerk know you’re the one to aggravate? That’s a touch paranoid. They say it without thinking. Like any valediction. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2025, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-get-the-have-a-blessed-day-invocation-where-you-live-and-are-you-bothered-by-it/1025667/45 "2025-12-13T19:49:45Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Unless you go around with a sign that says “I’m an atheist” how would a store clerk know you’re the one to aggravate? That’s a touch paranoid. You don’t get it. Nobody expects anyone to spot atheists (or other non-Christians) by their looks, but it’s the default assumption that everyone is a fellow Christian that bothers many people, and rightly so. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2025, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-get-the-have-a-blessed-day-invocation-where-you-live-and-are-you-bothered-by-it/1025667/46 "2025-12-13T19:50:14Z")
I rarely disagree with you Beck, but that’s not how it works at all. I would prefer that people don’t make assumptions about who I am. Simple. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2025, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-get-the-have-a-blessed-day-invocation-where-you-live-and-are-you-bothered-by-it/1025667/47 "2025-12-13T20:07:51Z")
'Zactly. It’s their unthinking assumption that not only an I an Xian, but a fellow demonstrative fundamentalist Xian. _Those_ are the people who say “have a blessed day”. And they’re not offering me a blessing. They’re saying “I _know_ you rate one because I know you’re an Xian just like me.” Sorry honey; you’re wrong. You’re actively offensively in my face wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2025, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-get-the-have-a-blessed-day-invocation-where-you-live-and-are-you-bothered-by-it/1025667/48 "2025-12-13T21:00:25Z")
I haven’t read this yet, but yes and yes. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2025, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-get-the-have-a-blessed-day-invocation-where-you-live-and-are-you-bothered-by-it/1025667/49 "2025-12-13T21:04:11Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > As for the OP, not here (San Francisco) among the people I interact with. It would mildly annoy me, as a way to sneak in a religious reference without any possible recourse on my part. It might chip a couple of points away from my good mood. But that’s all. Change Sf to Seattle area and this is my exact response. I don’t think I’ve ever heard it here, but I have when travelling in the South and Southeast. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2025, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-get-the-have-a-blessed-day-invocation-where-you-live-and-are-you-bothered-by-it/1025667/50 "2025-12-13T21:12:22Z")
But I’m not supposed to say “Happy Holidays!” at this time of year. If it wasn’t for double standards, most of these people would have no standards at all. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2025, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-get-the-have-a-blessed-day-invocation-where-you-live-and-are-you-bothered-by-it/1025667/51 "2025-12-13T21:21:09Z")
I hear Have a Blessed Day pretty regularly, and almost exclusively from people of color. It doesn’t bother me in the least. If it did bug me I might respond “You have a best day, too!” And when someone sneezes I simply say “Jesus Christ, thanks for the shower!” mmm ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2025, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-get-the-have-a-blessed-day-invocation-where-you-live-and-are-you-bothered-by-it/1025667/52 "2025-12-13T21:33:55Z")
I’m in Michigan, and it’s getting much more frequent. It irritates me because yes some/many people say it, it isn’t the norm and they know it. I got it from a phone customer service person recently who also used god and Jesus when reading alpha numeric codes to me as in 850 jag w were Jesus apple god woman. It seems to me they want you to know how very Christiany they are. One lady used to out and out say God bless you every time she finished her transaction. I worked with a bit more in your face Atheist than I am, and he told her to please stop doing that. She actually did stop. I always want to say, “Blessed be,” and see what reaction I’d get. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2025, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-get-the-have-a-blessed-day-invocation-where-you-live-and-are-you-bothered-by-it/1025667/53 "2025-12-13T21:40:00Z")
“Tell you what. I won’t rub my atheism in your face if you’ll stop rubbing your Christianity in mine. Let’s each extend common courtesy to one another and stick to neutral pleasantries, shall we? Thanks!” ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2025, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-get-the-have-a-blessed-day-invocation-where-you-live-and-are-you-bothered-by-it/1025667/54 "2025-12-13T21:52:48Z")
That’s by far the best most mature answer. Beats my splenetic fantasizing all to heck. Shame they tend to drop their B-bomb just before I’m walking out or hanging up. Where / when I’m already mentally halfway into my next activity and disinclined to tarry further to reeducate the hopeless. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2025, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-get-the-have-a-blessed-day-invocation-where-you-live-and-are-you-bothered-by-it/1025667/55 "2025-12-13T21:58:51Z")
Passive aggressive Christianity is a particular peeve of mine (one of many!), so I will often slow just long enough to express my displeasure at their assumption in some perfectly polite but firm way. It usually shuts them up. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2025, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-get-the-have-a-blessed-day-invocation-where-you-live-and-are-you-bothered-by-it/1025667/56 "2025-12-13T21:59:35Z")
‘Common courtesy? Neutral pleasantries?’ ‘So you’re one of those NVEs (Nihilistic Violent Extremists) seeking to cause indiscriminate chaos, destruction, and social instability, and bring about the collapse of society that the FBI has been warning us about?’ ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2025, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-get-the-have-a-blessed-day-invocation-where-you-live-and-are-you-bothered-by-it/1025667/57 "2025-12-13T22:03:20Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > ‘So you’re one of those NVEs (Nihilistic Violent Extremists) seeking to cause indiscriminate chaos, destruction, and social instability, and bring about the collapse of society that the FBI has been warning us about?’ LOL, oh, I’m sure my stock response earns me a red pin stuck into a map for when the Civil War™ breaks out. 🙄 ( 🙄 at them, not you.) ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2025, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-get-the-have-a-blessed-day-invocation-where-you-live-and-are-you-bothered-by-it/1025667/58 "2025-12-13T22:04:21Z")
Honestly, my life isn’t blessed enough for this to merit anything on any scale. Life is hard enough. I don’t need to make myself even less happy by letting these strangers change how I feel. And I am not going to be able to stop them even I did care. I will just seem like an asshole, and thus make things worse. Maybe if you’re actually my friend, I might sit down and politely tell you that I don’t particularly like it. But then the only friends I would have that would do that would be doing it without any of the “I need to show off how Christian I am” meaning behind it. People who need to show that off can’t be my friend. It would just be a stock phrase. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2025, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-get-the-have-a-blessed-day-invocation-where-you-live-and-are-you-bothered-by-it/1025667/59 "2025-12-13T22:10:33Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > IMO saying “Have a blessed day” is about as tone deaf as telling a black person you just met “Some of my best friends are black.” Oh, it gets better than that. Way better, and the cringe-worthy act was perpetrated by none other than this well-meaning pup. When I worked for a major computer company, I did a lot of traveling, as did most other employees. One day, at an airport, I ran into a product manager I knew. I really liked and admired him. Excited to see him, I unthinkingly blurted out “I haven’t seen you in a coon’s age!” Which takes on cringe-worthy significance when you understand that the product manager was Black. But we were friends and he knew I meant no harm and we had a cheerful conversation. But how I wished I could take back those words! That unfortunate expression stuck in my head because it was frequently used by an old Saskatchewan farmer I knew. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2025, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-get-the-have-a-blessed-day-invocation-where-you-live-and-are-you-bothered-by-it/1025667/60 "2025-12-13T22:14:09Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Tell them, “Allah Akbar”. I’m not joking about this. Figure out the equivalent of “Have a blessed day” in various religions. A online search tells me that it’s “[Barakallahu feek](https://www.google.com/search?q=Barakallahu+feek&rlz=1C1UEAD_enUS1138US1138&oq=What+is+the+equivalent+of+%22Have+a+blessed+day%22+in+other+religions%3F&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRiPAjIHCAIQIRiPAtIBCjMzMzYwajBqMTWoAgiwAgHxBfjqMnZZF-Rh8QX46jJ2WRfkYQ&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&ved=2ahUKEwi-pcX9x7uRAxXyD1kFHasCAPEQgK4QegQIAxAD)” in Islam, “Shabbat shalom” in Judaism, “[Namaste](https://www.google.com/search?q=Namaste&rlz=1C1UEAD_enUS1138US1138&oq=What+is+the+equivalent+of+%22Have+a+blessed+day%22+in+Hinduism%3F&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRigATIHCAIQIRigATIHCAMQIRigATIHCAQQIRigATIHCAUQIRigATIHCAYQIRiPAjIHCAcQIRiPAtIBCjEzODY5ajBqMTWoAgCwAgA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&ved=2ahUKEwiQgZ6iyLuRAxVRL1kFHfErB4gQgK4QegQIAxAB)” in Hinduism, and “Wànfú” in Confucianism. Find out the equivalent in other religions, including Paganism, Wicca, Agnosticism, and Atheism. Tell them a different one each time a particular person tells you “Have a blessed day”. If they ask why you’re using a different reply, tell them you just converted. If they say that you’re annoying them by giving the reply in a religion they don’t belong to, tell them that they annoyed you in the same way. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-get-the-have-a-blessed-day-invocation-where-you-live-and-are-you-bothered-by-it/1025667.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-get-the-have-a-blessed-day-invocation-where-you-live-and-are-you-bothered-by-it/1025667.md?page=4)