Is it wrong to say bless you?

You have to be really picky to be offended by someone saying “bless you” after a sneeze. It's a polite social convention — not you literally bestowing them with a blessing from God. For most people, it's a reflex and one based in good intent.

What's wrong with saying bless you?

Please stop acknowledging my bodily functions. "Bless you" is a phrase so reflexively spoken upon hearing a sneeze that many of us forgot or don't even know where it came from. It has obvious religious connotations but they're archaic and no longer make any sense in our modern-day world.

What does it mean when someone says bless you?

Definition of bless you

1 —used in speech to express thanks or good wishes "I'll be happy to help in any way I can." "Oh, bless you! That's very kind of you." 2 —said to someone who has just sneezed.

What to say instead of bless you?

"Well-being!", "Health!" "Relief!", or "God give you relief!" "Elation!", or "Thrill!" "God have mercy on you" if the sneezer says "All praise is for God."

Why shouldn't you say bless you when someone sneezes?

The act of blessing a person subsequent to a sneeze was meant to act as a safeguard against the devil's evil influences returning. However, if the sneezer should thank the blesser for the blessing it was thought to invite the devil with all his evil influences to re-enter the body.

Why Do People Say Bless You When You Sneeze

Is saying bless you rude?

“Saying 'God bless you' following a sneeze is a common refrain, so common and taught from childhood that many people don't even think of it as a blessing, but rather as an utterance without specific meaning other than a response to a sneeze that is polite in some way,” said Dr.

When should you say bless you?

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.

Is bless a religious term?

Definition of bless

1 religion : to hallow or consecrate by religious rite or word asked the priest to bless their marriage Bless this home. 2 religion : to hallow with the sign of the cross He blessed himself before liftoff.

Is it correct to say may God bless you?

"May God bless you" is correct. It's a subjunctive form, actually, where the subjunctive is being used as a sort of third person imperative.

Is saying bless you universal?

We've all grown up with the expectation that when someone sneezes it is only polite to say 'bless you'. It's a fairly universal reaction that has become almost automatic for most people. When you are traveling in other countries, however, you may not know what to say when someone sneezes around you.

What does bless you mean in England?

bless you! in British English

(interjection) a. a traditional phrase said to a person who has just sneezed. b. an exclamation of well-wishing or surprise.

Why don't you say bless you when you cough?

In English it is polite to say "bless you" when someone sneezes. If someone coughs then people do not tend to say anything. I hope that this helps!

What does it mean to bless someone?

verb. /blɛs/ 1bless somebody/something to ask God to protect someone or something They brought the children to Jesus and he blessed them.

Why is it polite to say bless you?

Saying “bless you” was believed to help keep it in you. Alternatively a sneeze was the body's way of expelling a demon and saying that phrase would shield you from the evil. Whatever the origin, nowadays it is polite to say “bless you” when someone sneezes, just like saying “thank you” or “please”.

Is it appropriate to say God bless you at work?

A private employee has a right to express themselves. They can probably say 'God bless you' to customers, but an employer has a right to uniformity in the workplace and not to be saddled with an employee's beliefs.

Why do guys say God bless you?

said when saying goodbye to someone, to say that you hope good things will happen to them : Good night everyone, and God bless. said when someone sneezes, to say that you hope they have good health: "Achoo!" "God bless you."

What do you reply to God bless you?

What is the original meaning of the word bless?

1540s, "to sacrifice, kill as a victim," from Latin immolatus, past participle of immolare "to sacrifice," originally "to sprinkle with sacrificial meal," from assimilated form of in- "into, in, on, upon" (from PIE root. Related: Immolated; immolating. See more. bliss. blessed.

What do Southerners mean when they say bless your heart?

"Bless your heart" is a phrase that is common in the Southern United States. The phrase has multiple meanings. It may be used to express genuine sympathy or as a precursor to an insult to soften the blow.

What is a non religious word for blessing?

The first part is to have been endowed with divine favor. The second part is to be joyful for having received the blessing. No doubt that as a new father you feel any one of these, from the second part: overjoyed, jubilant, exultant, elated, gleeful, delighted, or wonderful.

Is it true that your heart stops when you sneeze?

When you sneeze, the intrathoracic pressure in your body momentarily increases. This will decrease the blood flow back to the heart. The heart compensates for this by changing its regular heart beat momentarily to adjust. However, the electrical activity of the heart does not stop during the sneeze.

Is saying bless you a southern thing?

In the South, 'bless your heart' situations arise all day, every day. Walk around long enough, and you'll hear 'bless your/their/his/her heart' spoken either vehemently aloud or in a breathless whisper. It's a versatile phrase indeed.

Who can bless someone?

Priests are ordained "that whatsoever they bless may be blessed, and whatsoever they consecrate shall be consecrated". In other words, priests can bless anything.

How do you use the word bless?

Who can say God bless you?

The phrase has been used in the Hebrew Bible by Jews (cf. Numbers 6:24), and by Christians, since the time of the early Church as a benediction, as well as a means of bidding a person Godspeed. Many clergy, when blessing their congregants individually or as a group, use the phrase "God bless you".