Bless you or God Bless you?

Which do you say when somebody sneezes???

By the way, I got the idea for this thread from a Dane Cook joke...

He says, it's not like he's god & he can just say "Bless you" like he is blessing them. He says you should say "God Bless You" which I agree so yeah. I just think people shorten it down like we do every other thing we say.

I say, "Cover your doggone mouth, ya' cretin!" :irked:

Gesundheit...

God Bless You.

One traditional explanation for the custom is that it began literally as a blessing. Pope Gregory I the Great (AD 540-604) ascended to the Papacy just in time for the start of the bubonic plague in AD 590 (his successor succumbed to it). To combat the plague, Gregory ordered litanies, processions, and unceasing prayer for God's blessing. When someone sneezed (seen as the initial onset of the plague), they were immediately blessed ("God bless you!") in the hope that they would not actually develop the disease.

-wikipedia

I always heard that back in the old days they thought it was your soul trying to escape so they said God Bless You. That's not the reason I say it but it's what I've heard.

The belief that the heart stops when you sneeze, and the phrase "bless you" is meant to ensure the return of life or to encourage your heart to continue beating. (Of course, the heart beats because of electrical pulses that are not affected by normal functions like sneezing.)

Your soul can be thrown from your body when you sneeze, and saying "bless you" prevents your soul from being stolen by Satan or some evil spirit. Thus, "bless you" or "God bless you" is used as a sort of shield against evil.

A sneeze is good luck and saying "bless you" is no more than recognition of the sneezer's luckiness.

Alternatively, it may be possible that the phrase began simply as a response for an event that wasn't well understood at the time.

Another urban legend states that you cannot open your eyes while you sneeze, or if you manage to your eyes will pop out. This is, of course, impossible, as your eyes are held in place by multiple sets of muscles and the rather thick optic nerve.

Thats it. :thumb:

Way to steal my thunder! ha ha

I just say "Bless you" because it's easier. I'm not trying to take God out of sneezing or anything.

Usually god bless you around people I know, or maybe work. Bless you in less formal settings.

Gesundheit...

God bless you....

I say, "Cover your doggone mouth, ya' cretin!" :irked:

You nerd!!!:sssh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Remind me to never sneeze around you! LOL LOL

means health in english .

Yup. Whole family is German and that's just what was always said when I was growing up...

I say, "Cover your doggone mouth, ya' cretin!" :irked:

That is definitely what I tell my 4 yr old.

Normally I say bless you though.