Why Do We Say "bless You" When Someone Sneezes? - The Guardian

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Mon 14 Feb 2011 21.39 GMTLast modified on Thu 14 Feb 2019 14.14 GMTShare

  • This goes back to more superstitious times when a sneeze was believed to separate the soul from the body. To prevent the devil stealing the soul the incantation “bless you” (i.e. God bless you) was uttered to release the soul from Satan’s clutches and return it to its rightful owner.

    Alan Montague

  • It comes from the time of the Great Plague. As sneezing was one of the first symptoms, and it was obvious that person would die, “bless you” (or “God bless you”) was a suitable thing to say.

    Jeremy Bassett, Bristol

  • It was believed that sneezing was the way for the body to rid itself of the devil’s evil influences. The act of blessing a person subsequent to a sneeze was meant to act as a safeguard against the devil’s evil influences returning. However, if the sneezer should thank the blesser for the blessing it was thought to invite the devil with all his evil influences to re-enter the body.

    Bill Chandler

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