Newz!
Well I found out how to hack Myspace. so now i can change my myspace at school! Yeah, anyways here's my research paper: (i didn't take out the parentheticals)
Bless You! Bless Me?
Ah! Ah! Ah-Choo! A sneeze interrupts a lecture, a friendly conversation, maybe a nice nap, or a test in progress. Followed by a sneeze is an echo of “Bless yous” and “God Bless yous.” Why do people say “Bless you” after a sneeze? The etymology or the historical development of behind the phrase leads to ancient times. Does the fact it is world wide known and used mean that it is ancient (“How”). The world might never know who coined the phrase or when the phrase entered everyday language. The reason why people say “Bless you,” after a sneeze, will remain an enigma.
If the reasons why people sneeze are unclear, then the reasons why people say bless you would be less clear. Pose the question: why do people sneeze? And what exactly is a sneeze? A person might sneeze because they have allergies. This means that a pollen or dust particle incidentally travel to the nose. Then, the particle accidentally collides into a nose hair. Consequently, the nose gets irritated and a tidal wave of air moving 120 miles per hour washes out the nose carrying out the pollen or dust particle, and sometimes more, creating the classic Ah-choo! (“How”).
There are far more reasons why people sneeze. A person with a deadly illness constantly sneezes. Sneezing is the symptom for the common cold, flu, influenza, bubonic plague, and possible lung cancer (“Sneezes”). Some people are allergic to sunlight and maybe that’s why they sneeze. Which brings another aspect of this never ending enigma: what does a sneeze mean? For those that sneeze when exposed to sunlight actually have a medical condition called Photic Sneeze Reflex. Yet, before medicine was a fact, people associated light as God’s presence. Thus, it could be said that the person had “seen the light” and a sneeze was proof.
However, it is still unclear what a sneeze can mean. A common theory is that the phrase was coined by Pope Gregory the First in attempts to fight the raging Bubonic Plague (“How”). The Black Death, another name for the Bubonic Plague, and the phrase “bless you” go hand in hand and it is seen in the nursery rhyme “Ring Around the Rosy.” The site form of the rhyme goes something as follows: “Ring-a-ring o’Rosies A Pocket full of Posies. ‘A-tishoo! A-tishoo!’ We all fall Down!” The plague did not discriminate its victims. The people could only hope to keep their “pockets full of posies,” and not let the “A-tishoo! A-tishoo,” sneezing, get to them. (“Ring”)
Another health related reason why people say “bless you” is the belief that a sneeze was powerful enough to stop the heart and cause the sneezer to die. Yes, sneezes are very powerful: 120 miles of air crowding out through a nose creates a lot of pressure in the chest. No, your heart does not stop. In fact, it is nearly impossible for a sneeze to occur at the same rate a heart beats. Well, maybe a rapid culmination of pressure and fast blood flow might cause a heart to ‘skip a beat.’ There is certainly no way of dying because of a sneeze assuming it is a regular heart (Wilson).
There are also reasons why people say bless you that connect with superstitions and other abstract notions. People in different places of the world believed that a human’s soul would be thrown out of the body via a sneeze. “Bless you” would then be said to protect the soul from being abducted by Satan and evil demons until the soul returned to the body. The story also has its inverse. People also believed that demons were expulsed from the body via a sneeze and “bless you” was said to protect the sneezer from evil trying to re-enter the body (Mikkelson).
Yet, a mediocre reason why people say “bless you” would be that the sneeze is luck. People thought that a sneeze foretold good luck to the sneezer. So a person would tell the sneezer “bless you” as in “you have been blessed.” Yes, this story also has two sides. The ridiculous side of this story is that the person that was sneezed upon or was near a person sneezing received luck. So “bless you” was said as a “thank you for the good luck you’ve bestowed on me” in other words “I bless you and you bless me?” (Mikkelson).
So a person sneezes and the most common response is “bless you” for English speaking populations. The phrase is so common and mostly everyone says it but there is no true geographical origin for the phrase. Some people have responses for multiple sneezes. In Mexico one sneeze means “salud” or health. If a person sneezes twice it means “dinero” or money. If a person sneezes three times it means the person will receive “amor” or love. Now, if a person sneezes four times then they are to be directed to a doctor for “alergias” or allergies (“Sneezes”).
Japan, a country that has a different language set up to Mexico, also makes the number of sneezes a factor. If a person sneezes once the response is “ichi homerarete” which means that someone is praising the sneezer. If the person sneezes twice the response is “ni nikumare” which means that someone is criticizing the sneezer. If a person sneezes three times the response is “san waraware” which means that the person is being laughed at. Finally, a similarity to Mexico, if a person sneezes four times that means the sneezer is going to catch a cold (“Sneezes”)!
Many cultures have different ways to respond to a sneeze. In English people say “bless you” sometimes a sincere, heart felt “God bless you” mainly to wish the sneezer health and for God to pay notice to the sneezer. In Germany the response is “Gesundheit” which means “I wish you health.” The French salute a sneeze by saying “A tes souhaits” which means “to your wishes” or “wish you health.” In Spain the response is “Jesus” because of the huge influenza epidemic that occurred in Spain. Every country has its own phrase! Yet, in some countries like in Japan, bless you is only said to those people that are close to each other. A mother can tell a son “bless you” but a son will not tell the vice principal “bless you.” Some countries aren’t as elaborate as Mexico and Japan, but they all have a phrase they use (“Sneezes”).
The reason why people say “Bless you,” after a sneeze, will remain an enigma. Extensive research is being made to know where the geographical origin of this common phrase comes from. What comfort, anyways, does one offer when saying “bless you” after a sneeze? Why acknowledge a sneeze and not a burp or a fart? (“Bless”). The answer will never be known!
Bless You! Bless Me?
Ah! Ah! Ah-Choo! A sneeze interrupts a lecture, a friendly conversation, maybe a nice nap, or a test in progress. Followed by a sneeze is an echo of “Bless yous” and “God Bless yous.” Why do people say “Bless you” after a sneeze? The etymology or the historical development of behind the phrase leads to ancient times. Does the fact it is world wide known and used mean that it is ancient (“How”). The world might never know who coined the phrase or when the phrase entered everyday language. The reason why people say “Bless you,” after a sneeze, will remain an enigma.
If the reasons why people sneeze are unclear, then the reasons why people say bless you would be less clear. Pose the question: why do people sneeze? And what exactly is a sneeze? A person might sneeze because they have allergies. This means that a pollen or dust particle incidentally travel to the nose. Then, the particle accidentally collides into a nose hair. Consequently, the nose gets irritated and a tidal wave of air moving 120 miles per hour washes out the nose carrying out the pollen or dust particle, and sometimes more, creating the classic Ah-choo! (“How”).
There are far more reasons why people sneeze. A person with a deadly illness constantly sneezes. Sneezing is the symptom for the common cold, flu, influenza, bubonic plague, and possible lung cancer (“Sneezes”). Some people are allergic to sunlight and maybe that’s why they sneeze. Which brings another aspect of this never ending enigma: what does a sneeze mean? For those that sneeze when exposed to sunlight actually have a medical condition called Photic Sneeze Reflex. Yet, before medicine was a fact, people associated light as God’s presence. Thus, it could be said that the person had “seen the light” and a sneeze was proof.
However, it is still unclear what a sneeze can mean. A common theory is that the phrase was coined by Pope Gregory the First in attempts to fight the raging Bubonic Plague (“How”). The Black Death, another name for the Bubonic Plague, and the phrase “bless you” go hand in hand and it is seen in the nursery rhyme “Ring Around the Rosy.” The site form of the rhyme goes something as follows: “Ring-a-ring o’Rosies A Pocket full of Posies. ‘A-tishoo! A-tishoo!’ We all fall Down!” The plague did not discriminate its victims. The people could only hope to keep their “pockets full of posies,” and not let the “A-tishoo! A-tishoo,” sneezing, get to them. (“Ring”)
Another health related reason why people say “bless you” is the belief that a sneeze was powerful enough to stop the heart and cause the sneezer to die. Yes, sneezes are very powerful: 120 miles of air crowding out through a nose creates a lot of pressure in the chest. No, your heart does not stop. In fact, it is nearly impossible for a sneeze to occur at the same rate a heart beats. Well, maybe a rapid culmination of pressure and fast blood flow might cause a heart to ‘skip a beat.’ There is certainly no way of dying because of a sneeze assuming it is a regular heart (Wilson).
There are also reasons why people say bless you that connect with superstitions and other abstract notions. People in different places of the world believed that a human’s soul would be thrown out of the body via a sneeze. “Bless you” would then be said to protect the soul from being abducted by Satan and evil demons until the soul returned to the body. The story also has its inverse. People also believed that demons were expulsed from the body via a sneeze and “bless you” was said to protect the sneezer from evil trying to re-enter the body (Mikkelson).
Yet, a mediocre reason why people say “bless you” would be that the sneeze is luck. People thought that a sneeze foretold good luck to the sneezer. So a person would tell the sneezer “bless you” as in “you have been blessed.” Yes, this story also has two sides. The ridiculous side of this story is that the person that was sneezed upon or was near a person sneezing received luck. So “bless you” was said as a “thank you for the good luck you’ve bestowed on me” in other words “I bless you and you bless me?” (Mikkelson).
So a person sneezes and the most common response is “bless you” for English speaking populations. The phrase is so common and mostly everyone says it but there is no true geographical origin for the phrase. Some people have responses for multiple sneezes. In Mexico one sneeze means “salud” or health. If a person sneezes twice it means “dinero” or money. If a person sneezes three times it means the person will receive “amor” or love. Now, if a person sneezes four times then they are to be directed to a doctor for “alergias” or allergies (“Sneezes”).
Japan, a country that has a different language set up to Mexico, also makes the number of sneezes a factor. If a person sneezes once the response is “ichi homerarete” which means that someone is praising the sneezer. If the person sneezes twice the response is “ni nikumare” which means that someone is criticizing the sneezer. If a person sneezes three times the response is “san waraware” which means that the person is being laughed at. Finally, a similarity to Mexico, if a person sneezes four times that means the sneezer is going to catch a cold (“Sneezes”)!
Many cultures have different ways to respond to a sneeze. In English people say “bless you” sometimes a sincere, heart felt “God bless you” mainly to wish the sneezer health and for God to pay notice to the sneezer. In Germany the response is “Gesundheit” which means “I wish you health.” The French salute a sneeze by saying “A tes souhaits” which means “to your wishes” or “wish you health.” In Spain the response is “Jesus” because of the huge influenza epidemic that occurred in Spain. Every country has its own phrase! Yet, in some countries like in Japan, bless you is only said to those people that are close to each other. A mother can tell a son “bless you” but a son will not tell the vice principal “bless you.” Some countries aren’t as elaborate as Mexico and Japan, but they all have a phrase they use (“Sneezes”).
The reason why people say “Bless you,” after a sneeze, will remain an enigma. Extensive research is being made to know where the geographical origin of this common phrase comes from. What comfort, anyways, does one offer when saying “bless you” after a sneeze? Why acknowledge a sneeze and not a burp or a fart? (“Bless”). The answer will never be known!