Sneezer Siezures

‘Tis the season of allergies and my super-sniffer is not immune.

There are some who have been gifted with a terribly cute sneeze. They expel air at a gajillion miles an hour with the most delicate little “tchoo” you’ve ever heard.

The sound of that delicate little series of sneezes makes me long for lace doilies and tea and crumpets.

I am not one of those sneezers.

When I get going I know my sneeze can be heard from one county over and last week I’m pretty sure I shook dust off of the ceiling following my Williams-sisters-guttural roars.

In fact, awhile ago I sneezed so hard I thought, “If anyone with less bladder control had sneezed the sneeze I just sneezed they would have wet their pants. I just lost a lung and scared that cat out of it’s skin!”

My sneezes are rarely followed by a “God bless you” (more often I clutch my chest, yell, “oh, my ticker!” and stagger around trying to regain my footing) but that may change after reading the article I found on the origins of blessings folklore.

And I quote:

“Where exactly did the after-sneeze blessing come from?

1. Disease Stopping. Pope Gregory began the custom of blessing a sneeze in 590 A.D. The custom came as an attempt to help curb the spread of bubonic plague.

2. Heart Stopping. Some believe that your heart stops when you sneeze and that saying “God bless you” will help your heart to continue beating.

3. Soul Stopping. One way-out-there legend speculates that your soul can be thrown from your body. Saying “God bless you” prevents evil from entering your body while you’re “soul-less.”

4. Misfortune Stopping. People used to believe that saying “God bless you” after a sneeze would help stop a run of bad luck.” (associatedcontent.com)

Have you ever thought about why you say “bless you” after someone sneezes? I’m usually too busy recovering from the whole-body experience of my sneezer-siezures and looking for a Kleenex to wipe off my hand to bother for myself but I always bless others when they sneeze.

What do you think – should I be more consistent with my blessings (to ward off those evil spirits!)?

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3 thoughts on “Sneezer Siezures

  • May 15, 2011 at 4:08 pm
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    I always say “God Bless You”.. even when some folks act all offended .. LOL.. what is offensive about that…

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  • May 15, 2011 at 7:45 pm
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    First of all, I’m right there with you with the sneezes – I think I actually scare people at work when I sneeze. I guess the fact that it’s so quiet you could hear a pin drop doesn’t help. As far as the folklore goes, I just figure saying ‘God Bless You’ is a great way to give some blessings – sneezes just give me an excuse to say it! 😀

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  • May 22, 2011 at 2:53 pm
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    My 3 year old thinks sneezes are called “Bless you’s” And if he sneezes more than once, he expects the same number of “Bless you’s!” silly boy.

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