"Bless you!"

The other day, I was in a small local shop and I let out a sneeze.  The owner, who is an Arab, said "Bless you!"  It made me smile.  As there was nobody else in the store, and he and I know each other slightly, I asked him if he knew the reason for saying "Bless you," after somebody sneezed.  He wears a crucifix, but I don't know if that's to cover his real religion, but it's of no importance.  Most Americans have no idea why they automatically say "Bless you," or the German or Yiddish term "Gezundheit!"

A Google search will show up that nearly every culture says something after a sneeze - even the monks in Tibet.  However I've always been told by those who know that the origins in Christian countries go back to between 1348 and 1350.  It was then for the first time that the Black Death swept through Europe and killed between 30% and 60% of the population.  It seems that the beginning of the plague was a sudden sneeze; this was followed by an outbreak of boils usually around the torso or the legs or arms.  It was mostly fatal after just a few days.

The nursery rhyme says it all: 
Ring a'ring of roses (Reference to the red boils going around you)
A pocket full of posies (Reference to the bundle of fresh flowers to hold to your nose to avoid the smell of death)
Atishoo, Atishoo, we all fall down (Self explanatory!)

I well remember as a boy little girls skipping to a rope while singing to this.  Amazing that such an innocent song should have such a macabre history.

So the next time you say "Bless you," or have  it said to you, remember how far back the tradition goes - 660 years!