Bless Sneezes facts

While investigating facts about Bless Sneezes, I found out little known, but curios details like:

The saying "bless you" after a sneeze comes from 14th century Pope Gregory VII, who asked it be said after every sneeze to protect against the plague.

We say God Bless You after you sneeze because one of the symptoms of the plague was coughing and sneezing, and it is believed that Pope Gregory I (Gregory the Great) suggested saying “God bless you” after a person sneezed in hopes that this prayer would protect them from death

In my opinion, it is useful to put together a list of the most interesting details from trusted sources that I've come across. Here are 22 of the best facts about Bless Sneezes I managed to collect.

1. God blessing a sneeze was popularized by the Pope in response to a pestilence during the sixth century

2. Saying"Bless you" when someone sneezes has dated back to 77 AD and was done to prevent the soul from escaping the body

3. The phrase "God bless you" or "Bless you" originated during the Great Plague when sneezing was one of the first symptoms of the plague. Saying "God bless you" was a thought to have been good luck for the sneezer.

4. In Roman times instead of saying "God Bless You" when you sneezed, people would say "Jupiter Preserve You"

5. After a sneeze it is acceptable to say "Jupiter preserve you" and "god bless you" originated from Pope Gregory the Great during a bubonic plague epidemic.

6. In Filipino/Tagalog, when someone sneezes, instead of saying "Bless you" and "Thanks", they say "Naligo ako ah!" and "Sino ang di na ligo?" which translates to "Hey, I took a bath" and "Who didn't take a bath?"

7. The reason that people say "bless you" after sneezing is because sneezing was often the first sign that someone was falling ill with the plague during the Black Death and people would bless you because you were most likely going to die.

8. Every country/language except Korea has a response to people sneezing (i.e. Bless you, Gesundheit etc.)

9. The blessing "God bless you!" when sneezing became a common effort to halt the plague in AD 590

What is true about bless sneezes?

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The reason we say "Bless You" when someone sneezes is not expressly religious. Rather people were superstitious and thought that a sneeze had to do to evil spirits or that the heart stops beating when a person sneezes. When they said "Bless You" they were offering it as a good luck charm.

We may say "God bless you" after someone sneezes because of the historical superstition that after sneezing your soul is released from your body, thus making it up for grabs to evil spirits. - source

You say "bless you" after someone sneezes because a pope over a thousand years ago told people to say it so they wouldn't die from the plague. It also isn't related to the bubonic plague like most think, as sneezing wasn't a symptom of the bubonic plague.

Saying "God bless you" after a sneeze started when Pope Gregory I ordered that anyone that sneezed be blessed because a sneeze was thought to be a sign of the Bubonic Plague and a blessing was thought to halt its spread. - source

The expression "Bless you!" goes back to the times of the plague, since sneezing was often the first sign that someone was falling ill with the plague and the blessing was supposed to protect the sneezer

Why we say "bless you" when someone sneezes: Sneezes were 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.

The origin of why we say “Bless You” after a person sneezes is debatable. The ‘sneeze response’ itself is global and used in nearly 100 different languages/countries.

The custom of saying "bless you" after a sneeze was started by Pope Gregory I because he was afraid that a sneeze was a sign that someone had contracted the plague and a blessing could stop its spread.