The habit of blessing a person who sneezes is one of those customs, like greeting someone with "how are you?," that really isn't doing anything more that acknowledging something about the other person. As far as I can tell, nobody really thinks that they're providing any real blessing to the sneezer since nobody knows where the custom came from. When somebody blesses me for sneezing I simply make a half-hearted attempt at a smile. I certainly don't say "thank you" since, being an unreligious person, I can't bring myself to encouraging religious behaviors (even though I don't think religion enters into it in anybody's mind when the blessing is going on).
Even a nonreligious "gesundheit" seems to me to be an unnecessary pointing out that somebody had an involuntary reaction to a tickle in his nose.
To me, all this seems about as necessary as hearing "who cut the cheese?" when somebody makes a different kind of involuntary emission.
I have a neighbor at work who quietly murmurs "bless you" whenever she hears a sneeze. The sneezers can't possibly hear these blessings. If the person she's addressing can't hear the blessing, is the blessing conferred? If so, couldn't it be done completely silently? If not, what's the point?
I lied. She doesn't bless everybody who sneezes. She blesses only those who can't hear her. If I sneeze I don't get blessed. My colleagues don't get blessings when they sneeze.
Does she hate us and wish us the evils that these "blessings" are supposed to ward off? I'm miffed. Confused, at least.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
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According to Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase & Fable, 17th ed.,"St. Gregory has been credited with originating the custom of saying 'God bless you' after sneezing, the story being that he enjoined its use during a pestilence in which sneezing was a mortal symptom. Aristotle, however, mentions a similar custom among the Greeks...The Romans followed the same custom, their usual exclamation being 'Absit omen!'...there are similar traditional beliefs in India, Africa, ancient and modern Persia..." Basically, when you sneeze your soul is in transit; usually out, sometimes returning. Maybe if you exclaimed "Absit omen" when this woman sneezed, she might start blessing you.
I've heard that all your bodily functions temporarily cease when you sneeze, so that when you live through the sneeze, somebody blesses you to be thankful you lived. That may be one of those Urban Legends. I should look it up on Snopes...
There’s not a lot of point to most social customs. They are there as part of our fabric as social beings. You are right; social greetings such as “Hello,” “How are you?” “Let’s have lunch sometime,” “Drive safely,” “Gesundheit,” “Have a nice day,” don’t really do much at all, except keep us connected to one another. Same for handshakes, bows in Japan, or the double-cheek kiss in Europe.
One could even make the case that “Please” and “Thank you” are lumped among those social customs. Not really necessary, they don’t do anything except keep others comfortable.
I can’t explain your office mate muttering it under her breath for those who can’t hear it, but perhaps she doesn’t bless you because she has come to understand your hesitation in hearing it. And perhaps she is blessing you silently.
BTW, why is this post labeled as "phobia"?
I didn't want to tag it "aversions" since I don't want to have a bunch of tags with just one post. "Phobia" works since according to the American Heritage Dictionary it means "2. A strong fear, dislike, or aversion."
But maybe it's time to introduce "aversions" as a tag.
I haven't been tagging so much, since my tag list is getting so long. I wish we could have a list of more general subjects that were hotlinks to specific tags.
So James Levine was in CA 2 days before Opening Night in MA? What an airplane jockey!
So your co-worker mumbles her blessing out of earshot of the blessee. Is that like when a tree falls in the forest and nobody's around to hear it, does it really make a noise?
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