It’s Time to Bid ‘Bless You’ Adieu

To bless or not to bless? That is the question — especially in the advent of what is likely to be a sneeze-filled flu season.

As droning lectures will soon be punctuated by “achoos,” it’s time to reexamine the chorus of “bless you’s” which compulsively follow. Outdated and unnecessary, the expression should exit the popular lexicon.

Why do people feel the need to say it in the first place? 

From the ancient Stoic belief the soul is a breath or moving air held within the body which can be expelled through the nose, to Zulu explanations of sneezing as the entry of a guiding spirit into the body, sneezing’s history as a spiritual phenomenon is vast.

Cross-cultural perceptions of nostrils as gateways to the soul and highways for evil spirits led to a common call for divine intervention. “Bless you” is the lasting iteration in American culture.

Despite a contemporary myth attributing the phrase’s genesis to an incorrect notion the heart stops beating mid-sneeze, general consensus maintains “God bless you” originated in Rome around 590 C.E. as a bubonic plague era blessing. Viewing sneezes as sure signs of infection, Pope Gregory I instructed Christians to call for divine protection of the imminently dead.

While modern science negates these ancient beliefs about sneezing and the influence of religion on American life weakens, antiquated outlooks live on in well-conditioned social norms. I often wonder if, by saying “bless you,” I’m perpetuating religious ideas I don’t believe in and am unsure the sneezer subscribes to.

I — like most others, I assume — couldn’t tell you the last time I stifled a sneeze in fear of the devil inhibiting my body. Today’s “bless you’s” don’t seem to reflect genuine intention to grant wellness, either.

The omission of the word “God” before “bless you” slightly removes the expression from its nonsecular origins, but religious connotations remain. The benediction seems out of place in an increasingly secular national culture.

So why can’t we just stop saying it?

It isn’t easy to override lifelong social conditioning. Noncompliance with polite protocol can make foregoing “bless you” feel on par with not holding the door for someone behind you or yelling at a waiter. But if the sustaining force of a courtesy is social pressure rather than thoughtful intention, the norm is clearly outdated.

Still, understandings of the phrase’s propriety today are murky. What results is an odd limbo of hushed under-breath utterances and an increasing count of sneezes unblessed.

Its absence can certainly be awkward. When someone else’s sneeze gets more “bless you’s” than mine, what’s likely just collective uncertainty of how often to say it can feel like a personal slight.

As “bless you” usage dwindles, the discomfort of post-sneeze silences will subside. Eventually sneezes could, like coughs, be regarded as bodily reactions that don’t really need addressing.

There’s no reason to keep the spotlight on a sneeze. Ensemble “bless you’s” can be disruptive, as lingering benedictions cut into flows of conservation and draw unnecessary attention to snotty expulsions. 

If shaking the knee-jerk reaction proves too difficult, there are alternative sneeze responses that ring sincere. “Gesundheit,” the German word for health, is a common “bless you” replacement with deliberate intent to wish well on a sneezer.

Some Spanish speakers say “salud,” or “health,” after one sneeze, “dinero,” or “money,” after a second and “amor,” or “love,” after the third. If every “bless you” was a call for the showering of health, riches and affection upon someone, it might actually be significant enough to keep relevant. 

While it’s comforting to know some pittance of collective goodwill still exists in the U.S., kindness amongst communities should be channeled into intentional action — not archaic phrases.