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Sneezing omens

Q: How old is this superstition?

First recorded: Ancient Greece; the blessing formalised by Pope Gregory I in 590 AD. A sneeze was read as the soul briefly leaving the body, or as a sign of plague. The custom of blessing the sneezer was made explicit during the plague of 590, when Gregory ordered it as a prayer for the afflicted.

Sneezing omens: someone is talking about you; blessing prevents harm. The blessing survives as pure etiquette in most of the world — one of the few superstitions to become a manners rule rather than fade.

When it actually starts

How old is this one

First recorded Ancient Greece; the blessing formalised by Pope Gregory I in 590 AD

Category Body

Searched 1,000 a month

A sneeze was read as the soul briefly leaving the body, or as a sign of plague. The custom of blessing the sneezer was made explicit during the plague of 590, when Gregory ordered it as a prayer for the afflicted.

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. Nearly universal, with different phrases: health in Germanic languages, long life in Arabic, "desires" in Japanese.

Other body superstitions

Itchy palm 2,590/mo Ringing in the ears 880/mo Left hand superstitions 2,590/mo Right hand superstitions 2,400/mo Pregnancy superstitions 1,030/mo Hiccups superstitions 480/mo

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 →