delphis49
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in the old days people believed that sneezing was a way of getting rid of demons that were inside of you. they said bless you to stop them from going back inside. |
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Ginny
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The Gale Encyclopedia of the Unusual and Unexplained has a great section on the many interpretations of this widespread custom, including most of those offered in other answers here and many others. If your local library has the Gale Virtual Reference Library online, you'll find it there. |
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KD
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It is based on an old belief that the spirit can escape through the nostrils or other orifices and other spirits can enter. The blessing is to keep the evils from entering.
Nose piercing comes from the belief that the spirit will get so caught up in the artifical hole that it will ignore the big nostril hole. |
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pdmalek
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It goes back to the old days when people sneezed, people thought the "devil" was try to come out of us. |
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Cflames
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in the past they believed that when you sneezed your soul was trying to escape, by saying 'bless you' it would force the person who sneezed soul back into there body. |
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demnity
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Cos sneezing is meant to represent the devil taking possession of someone's body. |
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ckboulton
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because in the days of the plague usually if you sneezed it meant you had the plague and would die, so they would give you your last blessing and say bless you.
hope its any good for you |
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debzc
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It goes back to the times when plague was rife. One of the symptoms of the plague was sneezing and people said bless you to appeal to God to fight off the illness. |
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clare p
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to stop the devil possesing them. |
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katiekat1300
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Well you could say god hates you but that just isn't very nice. |
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Dido
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It is because of the Bubonic plague. Wikipedia says:
To combat the plague, Pope Gregory I ordered litanies, processions and unceasing prayer for God's blessing.
It also has a list of superstitions which are all mentioned here but none correct.
Here is the link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bless_you |
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anis118030
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cuz the person sneezed out harmful elements from the respiratory tract naturally |
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nobody
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i don't, i believe everyone is blessed to begin with |
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oddball59
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It originates from the time of The Plague. One of the symptoms was sneezing and when you heard someone sneeze you knew they had got it and would die. People would say bless you and it's continued on from there.
Hence the nursery rhyme Ring a ring of Rosie's (the marks on the victims body) A pocket full of posies, Atishoo Atishoo, we all fall down (and die).
Hope that helps. |
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trailangel
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Some cultures believe that if you sneeze, part of your soul leaves your body. Therefore, saying "bless you" (or "God bless you") is a way of showing someone that you care for their soul, and, of course, have asked God to bless you. Few people know where it comes from; it's become a cultural habit. |
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ScreaminJock
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because of the great plague |
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meka g
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Because its a known fact that after you sneeze you stop breathing for 3 seconds. We should really be saying god blessed you but you know how people are we make make things shorter and roll with it like this short answer. |
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saorsie
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IT SHOULD BE F@CK OFF,YOU HAVE THE VIRUS. |
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fluffybunny
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It dates back a long way to the middle ages. People thought a sneeze was an open window for the devil to steal your soul so saying "God bless you" was to bless you and stop the devil from stealing your soul |
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Trinity
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Because some believe when you sneeze your soul escapes so apparently if you say 'bless you' your soul returns to your body. |
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Marbles
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Because sneezing was a clear sympton of the Black Death, so people say it to say 'Bless You. You're still alive!'. |
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♥ Princess ♥
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also, your heart stops when you sneeze and people use to believe that your spirit would leave you unless you or someone else said bless you. |
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kitten4anutta
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i believe it originated from the time of the black death,cholera.
they said because the disease had the symptoms of sneezing. a vain attempt at preventing the disease |
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Davo
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Sneezing was a symptom of the black death - it comes from that time (I think) |
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sheila
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cus when you sneeze your heart stops
and you can die if it fails or something
so we say bless you that your still alive.. |
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LuckyChucky
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because you lived through the closest moment of death. you stopped breathing and all involuntary reactions seized. God Bless you your still alive. |
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bashfullyours1973
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the heart stops but not for long. bless you is a courtiesy |
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Ecko
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Dates back to olden days when they thought a sneeze allowed the devil to enter the body. Hence why someone would say 'bless you'
Edit - The black death ones are wrong, I'm right!! 'Bless you' was even said before the black death. And for the record, the nursery rhyme 'ring-a-ring of rosies' with the line 'atishoo, atishoo, all fall down' has nothing to do with the black death. This is an urban myth. |
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nealo d
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Because theres an old european superstition that at the moment you opened your mouth to sneeze, the Devil could enter into you. So the blessing was to keep him out. |
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snikleback
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it's to do with the plague..sneezing was a sign you had it and you were going to die so they said bless you. |
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Hi
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Should we say it after someone farts??? |
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