Why Do People Say 'Bless You' When You Sneeze?

People say 'Bless you' when someone sneezes because they think the person is being protected from something bad. Like, if you sneeze and no one says it, maybe something bad happens to you! It's like a magic spell. Sneezing might mean an angel is passing by, or a ghost is near, that’s why people say 'Bless you' so they keep you safe.

Test your understanding →

Examples

  1. When your little brother sneezes in the middle of a movie, your mom says 'Bless you' to keep the evil spirits away.
  2. You sneeze really hard at school, and your teacher says 'Bless you,' just because it's a nice thing to do.
  3. Your grandma always says 'Bless you' after you sneeze, she thinks that’s how you stay healthy.

See also

Discussion

Comments (0)

Categories: Culture · superstition· language· history · Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.