The Blessing in sneezing

By Ibiene George

Have you ever wondered why someone says ‘bless you’ when you sneeze, but no one says anything when you belch, cough, or even fart?

I’m sure you have, just as I have. My curiosity drove me to find out the relationship between these two seemingly unrelated phenomenon.

According to my findings, wishing someone well after a sneeze is an incredibly old custom. During the Early Roman Empire, people would say ‘Jupiter preserve you’ or ‘salve,’ which meant ‘good health to you’ and the Greek would wish each other ‘long life’ when someone sneezed.

However, the coinage of ‘bless you’ after a sneeze is directly attributed to Pope Gregory the Great, who is believed to have uttered it during the bubonic plague around AD 590, as sneezing was believed to have been one of the symptoms.

Interestingly, almost all countries have a special greeting after a sneeze. In China, when a child sneezes, people say ‘bai sui’ meaning ‘may you live up to 100 years (might this explain why they live long?). Arabs say ‘Alhamdulillah’ meaning ‘praise to God,’ while Hindus say ‘live’ or ‘Live well.’

Even more superstitious is the belief in some quarters that sneezing releases a bit of a person’s soul through the nose (I guess I have just a quarter of my soul left at this stage), however a ‘bless you’ would stop the devil from claiming the freed bits.

In however form it may come, science has proven that a sneeze is a reflex action commonly caused by colds, strong odours or an allergy, and has no proven spiritual connotation.

Either way, whether out of courtesy or custom, when next there’s a sneeze around you, be sure to say a bless you – Etttcchhhheeemmm!!!! Did I hear a bless me?