Skepticum

When someone sneezes in my vicinity, there is usually a “bless you!” shouted at the same time as my “Gesundheit.”English-speakers may be more used to hearing the sneezing benediction yet wishes of health such as the German “Gesundheit,” are common in European cultures, where the Spanish respond with “salud,” the Finnish with “terveydeksi” and the Romanians with “sanatate.” In Hebrew, Russian and Bulgarian the responses are also health related.

Some Romanians also joke about more than 2 sneezes. They’ll say, “to your health,” to the first 2 sneezes and if a 3rd is released they’ll laugh and say, “the hell with it, you’ve caught a cold!” What’s the point of wishing you health when clearly you’ve caught a cold?

It is unclear how “bless you” came about, but some claim the source is indirectly disease related, yet spread through papal history. According to straightdope.com, the sneezing benediction came about with the ascent of Pope Gregory the Great to papacy:

Pope Gregory the Great (540-604 AD) ascended to the Papacy just in time for the start of the plague (his successor succumbed to it). Gregory (who also invented the ever-popular Gregorian chant) called for litanies, processions and unceasing prayer for God’s help and intercession. Columns marched through the streets chanting, “Kyrie Eleison” (Greek for “Lord have mercy”). When someone sneezed, they were immediately blessed (”God bless you!”) in the hope that they would not subsequently develop the plague. All that prayer apparently worked, judging by how quickly the plague of 590 AD diminished.

Religious associations with sneezing date back to ancient Greece:

Odysseus returns home disguised as a beggar and talks with his waiting wife Penelope. She says to Odysseus, not knowing to whom she speaks, that he will return safely to challenge her suitors. At that moment their son sneezes loudly and Penelope laughs with joy, reassured that it is a sign from the gods. (wikipedia)

The only direct connection between a religious figure and a sneeze benediction can be found in the Islamic Prophetic Traditions, where Muhammad gives guidance:

When one of you sneezes, let him say, ‘Al-hamdu-Lillaah (Praise be to Allaah),’ and let his brother or companion say to him. ‘Yarhamuk Allaah (May Allaah have mercy on you).’ If he says, ‘Yarhamuk-Allaah,’ then let (the sneezer) say, ‘Yahdeekum Allaah wa yuslihu baalakum (May Allaah guide you and rectify your condition).

The atheist most certainly will stay with the secular tradition and wish the sneezer health. I may also recommend the French tradition where for the first sneeze one would say “to your desires,” and for the second, “to your loves.” Who says atheists have to be dry?

This is post 3 in the What Would the Atheist Say (WWAS) series.
Read part 1 and part 2

TechTags Plugin [ religion | Christianity | blessings | gesundheit | islam | atheism ]

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