Why do we say "bless you" when someone sneezes?

JReid

My understanding is that custom goes back to the time of the Great Plague in London. When someone sneezed, it could be a symptom that that person had caught the disease. The response, 'God bless you' was intended to express the hope that it was only a simple cold, not the terrible scourge sweeping the country. Apr 04 01, 2:01 PM

HardTopJoe

It's an old wives tale. It was believed that when a person sneezed the devil was evicted from the person's body. The 'Bless You' was to prevent the devil from re-entering! Apr 06 01, 12:45 PM

Friar Tuck

The Roman Augers used five different systems of omens to fortell events. The fifth was called Dira which covered such events as spilling salt on a table, wine on your clothes, hearing strange noises, stumbling or sneezing. While some people feel that saying 'Bless You' or 'God Bless You' to someone who has just sneezed is superstitious, it was a common expression in Roman times. In those times sneezing could have been the first sign that the sneezer had the plague and it was said as a blessing. Some superstitions believe that the devil can enter your body when you sneeze; someone saying 'God bless you' will drive the devil away. Another common belief was that the soul could leave or escape from your body when you sneezed. Covering your mouth while you sneezed prevented this from happening. http://tarotcanada.tripod.com/Sneezing.html Feb 17 03, 5:20 PM