semanticsWhat is the appropriate response when somebody sneezes? It’s common to say “bless you” or “god bless you”, but to an Atheist that’s meaningless.
Currently, all I can think of is the German “Gesundheit”, which means “health”, I think. But I don’t like saying that!
I gave this some thought over the last year or two. The reason we’ve been socialized to say “bless you” is because in the Middle Ages, it was thought that the soul escaped from your body during a sneeze, and if you didn’t call down God’s blessings on the empty body, the devil would leap in and snatch the soul away.
We don’t say “bless you” after any other automatic or semi-automatic excretion from another person (burps, flatulence, hiccups). The person making the noise says “Excuse me.” I think sneezes should fall in that category: the sneezer says “excuse me,” and everyone else either politely ignores the sneeze or hands the sneezer a tissue.
If you don’t care for German, you can use the Italian “Salute,” pronounced “sah-lu-teh,” which also means “health.”
What’s wrong with Gesundheit? It does mean Health, which is what you should be wishing someone showing symptoms of ill-health, such as sneezing. It’s perfectly appropriate, and doesn’t call upon a medieval superstition like “Bless You” does.
In some countries people prefer not to draw attention to it. May be that isn’t a bad idea.
I am happy with “Bless you” if you don’t want to say that then say nothing.
Phil Plait said “don’t be a dick”. To come up with a Atheist “bless you” (in my opinion) is a bit “dickish”
Religion has shaped us like it or not, I love Churches, they are stunning, beautiful, powerful building as is religious art. I don’t want to alter them just the they way society over reacts to them.
I have three responses to sneezes, “salute”, “gesundheit”, and “I acknowledge your sneeze”. My mood and who I am with determines my response.
I don't think there's much harm in "bless you". It's like a generic response.
In the languages that I speak, in Russian there is na zrodóvye, in Hebrew there is le'briút and in German there is Gesundheit. All of them mean "for health".
In English, wassail can be used for the same meaning (wæs hal in Old English or ves heill in Old Norse).
I think there’s a comedy sketch by someone.. can’t remember who… who answered that with “Nothing happens when you die.” Unless the sneeze-ie is also atheist, it’s probably sure to offend, however.
Science, bless you!
Medicine, save you!
I don’t think there’s a point to think about it much, only a few people would notice that. These expressions are just a part of the language.
Seeing as any such response to a sneeze is perpetuating a culturally superstitious tradition in the first place, why bother saying anything?
Generally, as the sneezer, I would say “excuse me” or similar, since I’m the one causing the disruption. I don’t expect anyone to be blessing me.
If you feel that little bit of social interaction is missing in your life, try replacing the phrases you don’t like with a faux-order of “Stop it!”, inflected and delivered in a manner to indicate sympathy with the. e.g., cold-sufferer.
Doesn’t anyone remember the Seinfeld episode where Jerry decides that to make someone feel better when they sneeze, you should say: “You’re so good looking!”
My father’s parents spoke German and I grew up saying Gesundheit. But last year I visited Germany for the first time to meet my relatives, and I asked them if that’s what they say. Their reply? “When someone sneezes? We don’t say anything.”
If you want to be a dick, you could substitute a different magic spell, like “Abracadabra”.
I see no more need to call attention to a sneeze than I would to a fart or a cough. Why do we need to respond to something which isn’t question?
Any response I make is likely to be humorous. For a sneeze I might say “Would you like me to wipe that off?”.
I just stumbled onto this, so I thought it was worth posting:
What do you say when an atheist sneezes?
Sometimes, I just say, “If you say so.”
I am Greek so I say “yeetses”, which means “get better” (health-wise). Somewhere I saw a reference that the ancients Greeks where the first civilization known to say something after a sneeze, although I am not sure if they did say “yeetses”. Egyptians probably did so also, but to record of it has been found.
Why should this concern an atheist? The acknowledgement is common accross a lot of western cultures and has no direct relationship with the speaker’s beliefs or lack of belief whatsoever. IMO a campaign against saying “Bless you” after a person sneezes is petty and runs the risk of being viewed as cultural vandalism. What’s next after “bless you” - a campaign against “goodbye”?
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