Bless you
Saying "bless you" after a sneeze once protected the soul, which was thought to be momentarily exposed.
Body superstition
Sneezing omens
Sneezing omens: someone is talking about you; blessing prevents harm. First recorded: Antiquity, in Greek and Latin writers; the story that Pope Gregory I introduced the blessing in 590 is a later legend. That makes it more than 1,500 years old — joint 2nd oldest of the 45 superstitions we have dated.
- Earliest record
- Antiquity in Greek and Latin writers
- Written down in
- 1867 Harland and Wilkinson, Lancashire
Record: John Harland and T. T. Wilkinson, Lancashire Folk-Lore (London: Frederick Warne, 1867).
When it actually starts
How old is this one
First recorded
Antiquity, in Greek and Latin writers; the story that Pope Gregory I introduced the blessing in 590 is a later legend
That makes it
more than 1,500 years old
Rank by age
Joint 2nd oldest of 45 dated here
Category
Body
A sneeze was read as the soul briefly leaving the body, or as a sign of plague. A popular story credits Pope Gregory I with ordering the blessing during the plague of 590, but no record from the time supports it.
1 of the dated superstitions here were written down earlier and 32 later, while 11 share its date.
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Primary source
As it was written down in 1867
“In the matter of sneezing we are just as superstitious as when the Romans left us. They exclaimed, ‘May Jove protect you,’ when any one sneezed in their presence, and an anxious ‘God bless you’ is the common ejaculation amongst our aged mothers.”
John Harland and T. T. Wilkinson, Lancashire Folk-Lore (London: Frederick Warne, 1867) — read the original text.
Harland and Wilkinson compare “God bless you” with a Roman blessing; Pliny the Elder was already asking in the first century why people bless a sneeze.
The versions people follow
What exactly is believed
Someone is talking about you
In East Asia one sneeze means someone is praising you, two that someone is criticizing you, three that someone loves you.
Sneezing on a decision
In parts of India a sneeze just before setting out means you should wait a moment before leaving.
Sneezing and truth
In several European traditions a sneeze during a statement confirms it is true.
How the bad luck is traditionally undone
Where a sneeze is a bad sign before a journey, people pause, have a sip of water and then leave.
Where it lives today
"Bless you", "gesundheit" and "salud" are everyday politeness now, kept long after the belief that a sneeze endangers the soul faded.
What people say
Someone is talking about you; blessing prevents harm.What is going on
The blessing survives as pure etiquette in most of the world — one of the few superstitions to become a manners rule rather than fade.Where it applies. Found across Europe and the Middle East with different phrases — health in German, God's mercy in Arabic — while in Japan nothing is customarily said at all.
Nearest in age
Sneezing omens are joint 2nd oldest of the 45 dated superstitions here. Of those, 3 date from 1900 or later and 14 predate the common era.
First-recorded dates are the earliest documented appearance in written sources, not the earliest possible origin — an unrecorded practice can be older. How the dating works and where it is uncertain →
Sources
Statements of fact on this page were checked against these sources in October 2026. How we choose and check sources: editorial policy.
Cite this page
AstroHot. “Sneezing Omens: Origin, Meaning and When It Began.” Accessed October 27, 2026. https://astrohot.com/superstitions/sneezing/
For Wikipedia
{{cite web |title=Sneezing Omens: Origin, Meaning and When It Began |url=https://astrohot.com/superstitions/sneezing/ |website=AstroHot |access-date=2026-10-27}}