[lit-ideas] Re: "Bless You" (Was: Sneeze)

-----Original Message-----
From: Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx
Sent: Jul 30, 2004 12:47 AM
To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [lit-ideas] "Bless You" (Was: Sneeze)

In a message dated 7/28/2004 5:07:13 AM Eastern Standard Time,  
JulieReneB@xxxxxxx writes:
I'm  curious about the African word for "blessing".  In Hebrew,  "Baruch"  
means "blessing" 
If you are curious why people say 'bless you' after other people sneeze,  
below.
Cheers,
 
JL
 


A.A.  Just saw this.  On the one hand, I'm behind the times.  On the other, I 
knew this without looking it up.  Nyah nyah.


Andy




-----
 
_http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mgesundheit.html_ 
(http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mgesundheit.html) 
 
Why do we say "God bless you" after a sneeze? 
27-Sep-2001
  
____________________________________
 Dear Straight Dope:How or why did saying "God bless  you" become associated 
as an expression one says to another after the other  sneezes? I've found some 
reasons listed below, but, somehow, I don't think any  of them are very 
legitimate: 
When someone sneezes his heart stops and saying "God bless you"  means "I'm 
glad your heart started again." 
Saying "God bless you" when you sneeze keeps the devil from flying  down your 
throat. 
When someone sneezes, say "God bless you and may the devil miss  you." 
When you sneeze your soul tries to escape and saying "God bless  you" crams 
it back in (said by Millhouse in an episode of The  Simpsons). How about giving 
me the Straight Dope? --Rob  Amato, Washington, DC 
SDSTAFF Songbird replies: If you've just sneezed, Rob, I think I'd rather  
give you a box of Kleenex. The custom of saying "God bless you" after a sneeze  
was begun literally as a blessing. Pope Gregory the Great (540-604 AD) 
ascended  to the Papacy just in time for the start of the plague (his successor 
succumbed  to it). Gregory (who also invented the ever-popular Gregorian chant) 
called for  litanies, processions and unceasing prayer for God's help and 
intercession.  Columns marched through the streets chanting, "Kyrie Eleison" 
(Greek 
for "Lord  have mercy"). When someone sneezed, they were immediately blessed 
("God bless  you!") in the hope that they would not subsequently develop the 
plague. All that  prayer apparently worked, judging by how quickly the plague 
of 
590 AD  diminished. The connection of sneezing to the plague is not the first  
association of sneezing with death. According to Man, Myth, and Magic: The  
Illustrated Encyclopedia of Mythology, Religion and the Unknown, many  
cultures, even some in Europe, believe that sneezing expels the soul--the  
"breath of 
life"--from the body.  That doesn't seem too far-fetched when  you realize 
that sneezing can send tiny particles speeding out of your nose at  up to 100 
miles per hour!  We know today, of course, that when you sneeze,  your heart 
doesn't stop, nor will your eyes pop out if you can keep them open  
(_www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_30  4.html_ 
(http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_304.html) ), nor does your soul get 
expelled. What does get expelled are  hundreds 
upon thousands of microscopic germs. The current advice when you sneeze  is 
to cover your mouth with your arm rather than your hand. That way, all those  
germs won't be on your hands when you touch the countless things you're going 
to  touch in the course of the day (don't tell us; we don't want to know).   
There are many superstitions regarding sneezing, some of which you've already  
listed. But here are some of my favorites.  
Sneeze on Monday for health,
Sneeze on Tuesday for wealth,
Sneeze on  Wednesday for a letter, 
Sneeze on Thursday for something  better,
Sneeze on Friday for sorrow,
Sneeze on Saturday, see your  sweetheart tomorrow,
Sneeze on Sunday, safety seek.  
One for sorrow
Two for joy
Three for a letter
Four for a  boy.
Five for silver
Six for gold
Seven for a secret, never to be  told. 
And lastly, a sneeze before breakfast is a sign that you will hear exciting  
news before the end of the day. I assume you sneezed this morning, Rob, 
because  you've just been blessed with the Straight Dope.  --SDSTAFF Songbird 
--  
Straight Dope Science Advisory Board  



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