Bless You! Bless You! Bless You!

By Anny Leong

You want TISSUE or BLESS YOU?

What is your first reaction to see someone sneezing? Give him/her a tissue paper? Or just move away as fast as you could to avoid infection? Most people must do one thing just as saying “BLESS YOU”. For Chinese, we will say “GOOD”. But why will we do that? How many of us do know the reason?

When Pope Gregory the Great (540-640 AD) became the Papacy, a plague happened. As a Pope, Gregory asked people to pray unceasingly so as to save lives. He grouped soldiers to march around the streets and sing “Kyrie Elison” at the same time. “Kyrie Elison” means “Lord has mercy” in Greek. When they happened to see anyone sneeze, they would bless the patient immediately. After a period of time, their efforts seemingly worked. The plague started to diminish in 590AD.

Another occasion associated with sneeze and death took place in the Dark Ages. It was commonly said that when a person sneezed, his/her heart would stop beating immediately. If the patient could not be blessed at the same time, he/she would die. The power of the phrase “bless you” was regarded as encouraging his/her heart to continue beating, also an urge for a life return.

“Bless you” was not only regarded as saving life but also working best in fighting against evil. When a person sneezes, his/her soul is thought to be thrown out of his/her body at the same time. The sneezer must be blessed otherwise his/her soul will be stolen by Satan or other evils.

Another superstition about sneezing is popping out of the sneezer’s eyes. According to that, if a person sneezed with his/her eyes opening, his/her eyes would pop out. Indeed, we all know that it is impossible to happen. no one can ever sneeze with his/her eyes opening.

Certainly, we all know that sneeze is just a process during which the nose wants to remove some irritating objects. We are no longer afraid that our heart will stop, our soul will be thrown out and our eyes will pop out while sneezing. Instead, we must thank sneeze which help our noses clear those allergens and millions of bacteria. However, the latest advice is covering your nose with your arm rather than your hands. In this way, germs will not be easily spread out so as to avoid your “dirty hands”.

“Bless you” has been widely used for decades. No matter what nations or languages you speak, it conveys the same meaning – showing your concern towards the sneezer. However, how many of us with a warm heart say a wholehearted “bless you”? I hope you are one.