I never say, “God bless you” when someone sneezes or say “Gesundheit.”
IMHO, it’s silly. What’re your thoughts on this one?
A cute story (maybe) was one I heard at a taping of the Craig Ferguson show. Carl Reiner was a guest and he told a story about his wife (they’ve been married for over 60 years!)
who says “God bless you” when someone sneezes AND farts. She claims it’s just like a sneeze, it has to come out, but not on purpose.
Later in the show (during a break) an assistant brought Craig a water and he made a face, stopped the guy who brought him the water and said, “And God bless you.”, as if the guy farted. Funny!
Hmmm… maybe this should be a debate. I don’t see it as mannerly. It’s an old custom, but why does it happen to begin with? Allergies, pollen, what have you, enter my sinus cavities, I sneeze (a bodily function)… why “God Bless you”?
Wouldn’t something like, “You wanna tissue?” be more productive? Usually, I need a tissue after I sneeze, instead, I’ve got snot on me, but I’m blessed!
To me it’s like if you hiccup, people say, “Flowers are blooming!” It makes about as much sense to say “God bless you” after a sneeze.
Whew. Good thing no one says anything after a hiccup. Murders would ensue. “Hic!” “Flowers are blooming!” “Hic!” “Flowers are bloomi–” Whack!
It’s mannerly. The fact that you might think it’s silly is irrelevant - it’s what the other person thinks. Sort of like “cool”. I might think I’m cool, but if nobody else does, I’m not.
The other person would make a friend if he offered me a tissue instead.
Then let’s say, “Cool” instead. Sneezes are kind of cool! There’s always a University of Google grad who might say, “Dude, your heart stopped!” Well, at least they try.
Okay, agreed. It is the polite thing to do, but why is it “god bless you”? Why not, “Cold be gone!” Or even, “sakes alive!”? I just don’t get what a bless from god has to do with one bodily function.
Well, since no one actually thinks that anything bad will happen if no one says it, it’s just long-entrenched custom that makes it polite. It’s really just an acknowledgment of the sneezer’s presence and humanity, I guess. Like “How are you?” or “How do you do?” – the real translation is “you’re there, and I’m here, and we have good will and respect toward each other.”
Oh. I totally failed to answer the question. I don’t know, the UL says something about a medieval belief about bad spirits gaining entry to your body, but I don’t know if that’s true or the equivalent of the ring-around-the-rosy story.
I’d sooner avoid saying ‘god bless you’–it’s awfully silly for me to be invoking a deity I don’t believe in. I’ll sometimes say gesundheit, but I think it’s quite odd that anything is expected to be said. More typically, I’ll generally say “excuse me” after I sneeze–it makes more sense that I should beg pardon for it than that anyone else should be blessing me over it.
It does annoy me when people insist on saying it every single time I sneeze during allergy season. Considering that I’ll have not-infrequent sneezing fits if I’m not taking medication, one GBY per day is perfectly sufficient to discharge your duties so far as I’m concerned.
Ha! I remember this one. I shouldve asked why we still say it.
And whenever someone tells me that my heart stopped-- as an avid iPhone carrier–
I search for Cece’s article you showed. Now, I’m bookmarking it.
Now, I won’t say it after a sneeze, and I don’t thank someone when they say it to me.
Am I evil? Am I rude? Remember, I always do the tissue offer instead.
I always say bless you because it’s polite. It’s about etiquette, not practicality. People do it, because other people think it’s polite.
If you want to show your self worth and rejection of the system’s chains on your rugged individuality by not saying bless you or refusing watching your mouth when a parent politely asks you not to talk like a ghetto hood rat in front of her kids, knock yourself out. Some of us like to approach life with a bit more grace and tact.
