Why do say god bless you sneeze

The most popular theory is that it originated in Rome when the bubonic plague was ravaging Europe. Sneezing was one the plague's main symptoms, and it is believed that Pope Gregory I suggested that a tiny prayer in the form of saying, "God bless you" after a sneeze would protect the person from death. Another, more superstitious theory, is that it stems from the ancient belief that a sneeze might accidentally expel the spirit from the body unless God blessed you and prevented it.

Other cultures thought that sneezing forced evil spirits out of the body, leaving others exposed to the wandering spirits. A blessing was to protect both the sneezer and those around him. And then there's the rumor that our hearts stop when we sneeze, and that saying, "bless you," is a way of welcoming the sneezer back from the dead. All Bombay Times print stories are available on. We serve personalized stories based on the selected city OK. Go to TOI. The Times of India.

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Greeks and Romans followed up a projection of mucus with phrases like live long and may Jupiter bless you. That positive connotation changed with Pope Gregory I while Europe was in the throes of the bubonic plague, or Black Death , in the 6th century.

Because sneezing was a symptom of illness, the Pope thought it would be proper to say God bless you as a little extra insurance from what was otherwise near-certain death. There was also a pervasive myth that the heart would briefly stop while sneezing, likely due to changes in blood flow that might cause a brief delay between heartbeats.

People may have said bless you to make sure the heart would continue beating rather than stop altogether, or as a form of congratulations: Bless you, Carl.