Do you say "God Bless You" when someone sneezes? Do you say it to strangers?

-- Anonymous, September 08, 2000

Answers

My allergies are acting up. Hence this topic.

I am a big fan of "God Bless You". I say it to strangers everywhere. On the bus, on the street, in a theater... I sat next to a lady and I sneezed about 5 times, and she didn't bless me, gesundteit me, nothing. I know I shouldn't have, but I got offended. Mean lady.

-- Anonymous, September 08, 2000

I always say "Bless you" to people, and "Excuse me" when I sneeze. I don't care if people say anything when I sneeze.

-- Anonymous, September 08, 2000

I always say "Bless you" to strangers if they sneeze. One time I was in a grocery store and I sneezed and I heard someone yell "bless you!" from another aisle. I yelled out "Thank you!" and giggled my way down the rest of the aisle.

-- Anonymous, September 08, 2000

I never say anything when someone sneezes. I guess I just don't see the point. And when I sneeze and someone blesses me, I usually just agree.

-- Anonymous, September 08, 2000

a tough topic for me....I always want to be polite and find myself saying "bless you" automatically...but since I don't believe in blessing, or, umm...god, I feel uncomfortable saying it. And when I don't say bless you, I feel bad.

...but when some stranger's blessing me, I wonder if they're a fanatical christian and they could tell by looking at me that I lead a sinful life and find this sneeze as an opportunity to sneak in a blessing...

-- Anonymous, September 08, 2000

i just say bless you skiddlely do. idont know where that came from but weve been saying that in my family for years.

-- Anonymous, September 08, 2000

Floosie, is your last name Flanders?! :)

I usually say "bless you" and try to leave god out of it. I don't get offended if nobody acknowledges my own sneezes, though.

-- Anonymous, September 08, 2000

If it's just a little sneeze, I usually don't say anything. But if it a full-force sneeze or multiple sneezes I'm a gesundteit person (thanks for spelling that Erika). Not being a very religious person either, if I sneeze and someone says the "...bless you" thing, I usually say "thanks, I need all the help I can get."

-- Anonymous, September 08, 2000

no my last name is smith! why?

-- Anonymous, September 08, 2000

Because "bless you skiddley do" sounds like something Ned Flanders (of The Simpsons) would say.

-- Anonymous, September 08, 2000

Oh geez, here we go again.

-- Anonymous, September 08, 2000

actually, the correct spelling is gesundheit, and, in German, it means "healthiness".

I view sneezing purely as a bodily function, so I don't tend to offer blessings or anything else when someone sneezes. (it kind of ties in with my "no-small-talk, EVER" rule-- I don't like saying things solely to fill space or to "be polite". *shrug*)
when someone says "god bless you" after I sneeze, I sometimes ask "what for?"-- as if sneezing is a sin? that amuses me. I know the etymology of the phrase, but I still find it humorous when I'm offered blessings-- by God!-- despite my being a non-christian.

all of that said, I make a point of saying "Gesundheit" when my supervisor sneezes, because she likes me to. She'd like it better if I blessed her, but I have my limits. ;-)

-- Anonymous, September 09, 2000

I say "bless you" a lot. My personal take on religion isn't Jewish or Christian or anything else, just my own little relationship with how I perceive God to be (she's a chick). I do, however, believe that whatever kind of blessing someone bestows on ya, be it a traditional kind of prayer or just a "have a nice day", amounts to some sort of positive energy directed your way. So, it's nice to hear someone say "bless you".

Nicole, that may have been me saying "bless you" from the other aisle in the store. Do you shop in Oakland CA?

I also make lotsa small talk...sorry. I suppose you'd look down your nose at me, huh Klee? I'm always talking to strangers in public and I like how folx react to friendly comments. I have found that in higher- income neeighborhoods, people are more often surly and rude, but deep in the heart of the ghetto you will meet the politest, most open people. Yuppies and folx who live in "good" neighborhoods don't even say "excuse me" when they walk in front of you and I have met so many kids of well-to-do people who have terrible manners.

-- Anonymous, September 11, 2000

As much as I try not to, I find myself screaming "OH MY GOD! DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY GERMS YOU JUST RELEASED INTO THE AIR? YOU ARE SO GROSS! GOD! GET AWAY!"

Nah. :-) I say bless you, leave out the God unless I'm with my family or close friends. There's a guy at my work on the other side of my cube who is Asian, and if I say bless you to him he never responds, and I wonder if it's a religious difference thing, but oh well. It makes me sad when I sneeze and no one says anything.

-- Anonymous, September 11, 2000

I choose not to get analytical about etymology when someone is just trying to be nice. They can bless me or say "scat!" (which is a Southernism) or "gesundheit" or whatever. I don't get all tweaked about them 'deliberately inflicting their religion' on me. In fact, I find the concept very silly.

It's a habit. It's one of those things people do, and I'm sure we've all had the experience where we didn't say "how are you?" but something else entirely but had the person we were talking to robotically answer "Fine" as if we had, simply because it is a habitual exchange that traditionally would include "howaya" in it. It may be annoying to realize that you're not really being *listened to* at that moment, but, speaking of sneezes, it is an automatic response. As is "bless you" or whatever you habitually say.

I get in surly moods and ignore the world at large, and I get in brighter moods where I'm chatty and debate sitting my lunch tray down at a stranger's table just to see what would happen and make all sorts of polite overtures like "gesundheit"s etc. Totally understand. I've also had my share of unsoliticed rudeness from strangers, and impolite responses to my friendly overtures. It's a big city. People get uptight and self-protective and too busy to deal with a change in routine. *I* get uptight, etc., too. I know how it is.

starmama's right, though, sometimes it's nice to make chit-chat. I was in a more outgoing mood Saturday afternoon and was in a grocery where I was stared at because I was a distinctive minority. By which I mean I was the only person within a five mile radius with blonde hair. I've lived in this neighborhood or one like it for years now, and I generally do my business and get out before the staff and other customers decide whether or not to be friendly, and I usually don't make waves by initiating much chat myself. There was, however, a very cute little girl in front of me, and I blurted out to her grandmother (I assume), "she's beautiful!", because she was, and I couldn't help it, I had to say so, then I got embarrassed for bothering them and went back to minding my own business. Grandmother didn't seem to think it was bothersome to have her grandchild's superiority pointed out, I guess, because she let me cut in line, her daughter handed over her basket because I was carrying frozen meals in my arms (having decided to be a brute and go without a tote) and we chatted and it was nice.

Gotta go with how you feel at the moment, I reckon.

But if you sneeze, I will probably say "Scat!", and if you get all offended because it probably has something to do with chasing off hypothetical demons trying to swarm into your open mouth and steal your soul, or whatever...well, go on and be offended. It's your perogative. Trust me, though, I'm not saying it out of religious fervor.

-- Anonymous, September 11, 2000

"But if you sneeze, I will probably say "Scat". ------------------------------------------------ That's all you needed to post in your reply. Really.

-- Anonymous, September 11, 2000

I don't know what anyone else knows about the etymology of "God Bless You", but I had heard it originated because the heart momentarily stops when ones sneezes. This is the only medical evidence I could find on the subject however and I don't speak or read Russian. Klee, you always have very smart answers so you probably just slipped on this and know it already but if you doubt or don't believe in God, you're agnostic or an atheist. Many non-Christians still believe in and worship a higher deity. And, thanks for properly spelling gesundheit, although it isn't a word I have ever had to spell before and probably never will again-but now I know!!! Yes Paul W. here we go again. OK, enough.

Physiol Bohemoslov 1967;16(4):311-6 Related Articles, Books The effect of changes in intrathoracic pressure on coronary haemodynamics during some defensive reflexes of the respi ratory tract.

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PMID: 4228108, UI: 68008632

-- Anonymous, September 11, 2000

"Needed to"? Yes. But I'm glad she didn't stop there.

-- Anonymous, September 11, 2000

Thanks, Frankie. It's one of those odd Southernisms.

I'll be sure to run my future posts by you so I won't ever exceed what you feel I need to put in them. :) After all, it's nice to have firmly delineated guidelines, etc., so as to best please everyone.

Scat! Boo! Bless You!

-- Anonymous, September 11, 2000

Why Paul W? Were you having trouble sleeping?

-- Anonymous, September 11, 2000

whats southerism?

-- Anonymous, September 11, 2000

I've actually heard that the heart speeds up. But whatever. someone look it up in the OED. This reminds me of the Seinfeld episode when they were trying to find something else to say when people sneezed besides gesundheit or blessyou. I think they came up with, "You are soooo goodlookin'" I hated Seinfeld in general, but that one was pretty funny.

-- Anonymous, September 12, 2000

I think little of it one way or another when I sneeze and someone says "Bless you." It sounds like a conditioned pleasantry, and they receive a conditioned pleasantry ("Thank you") from me in return.

It does bug me when people say "*God* bless you," because the very fact that it goes beyond the usual conditioned pleasantry leads me to think they're making a plug for their religious when they say it. (In the case of at least one fundamentalist Christian dear to my heart, I *know* that's what she's doing.)

-- Anonymous, September 12, 2000

Milla, I enjoy your long, thoughtful posts. Don't let the turkeys get you down! (as if you would!)

-- Anonymous, September 12, 2000

Why, thanks, Jill! :)

-- Anonymous, September 12, 2000

I'll say either Gesundheit or "Bless you". It's weird about Gesundheit, no one has spoken German as a mother-tongue in my family for at least 3 generations, but I still say it. I'll say it to a stranger too, I like it when people say it to me.

I have a weird sneeze, it usually goes for three or more sharp ones "Haa-choo, Haa-choo, Haa-choo". Once a temporary co-worker in Chicago said after I sneezed "You know, 15 years from now, if I'm in a crowd and hear that sneeze, I'll turn around and say hello to you, because I've never heard anyone else who sneezes like that".

Here in HK, people rarely say anything to you after you sneeze, 'though my husband is getting better about it and my daughter is now old enough to say "Bless you" or "Gesundheit".

-- Anonymous, November 14, 2000

I just say,"get the hell away from me you disease carrying worthless carcass." There I feel better now thankyou. james

-- Anonymous, November 14, 2000