What Does It Mean? Considered polite to be said to someone after they sneeze. Becomes slightly awkward if someone sneezes several times in a row. Where Does It Come From? There are a number of explanations for the origin of this term, but the most commonly accepted one is that in days of old, people believed that a violent sneeze could throw your soul clean out of your body through the nose - and that a 'bless you' could avert that pesky devil from then stealing it from you. Can you imagine how freaked out everyone must have been during allergy season? Other theories relate to early outbreaks of the plague. Some scholars attribute this still widely used phrase to Pope Gregory the Great, who would follow a sneeze with 'God bless you'. In addition, there was also once a belief floating around that a sneeze could cause the heart to stop, and the phrase would bring the sneezer back to life. Not quite the miracle cure heart specialists have been looking for... There have been many variations of 'bless you' throughout the ages. The Romans' response would be 'Jupiter preserve you,' whereas the ancient Greeks would say 'long life.' Around the world today, different cultures and languages have their own versions. The most commonly adopted in the English speaking world is 'gesundheit', which translates to 'health' in German. Which other strange idioms belong on this list? Share your own picks below in the comments.
Stephanie is a writer and free spirit who likes to pretend she's a Londoner, though strictly speaking she's from Watford. She likes books, music, elephants, and hairspray.
