Also called God bless you, gesundheit, salud, sneeze blessing
Saying 'bless you' after a sneeze is one of the oldest living customs in the world. Greeks and Romans already treated sneezes as omens and wished sneezers well; the popular story that Pope Gregory I began it during the plague of 590 is a later tradition without solid evidence.
Tonight's moon is read when the page loads.
Take care: Cover sneezes and wash hands, especially during cold and flu season. A blessing is not a cure; see a doctor for symptoms that last.
When Penelope wishes for her husband's return and revenge on the suitors, her son Telemachus sneezes loudly, and she takes it as a good sign her wish will be fulfilled. Greeks treated a well-timed sneeze as a sign from the gods.
Pliny asks why people greet a sneeze, and reports that Emperor Tiberius insisted on being saluted when he sneezed, even when riding in his carriage.
During a plague in Rome in 590, Gregory led prayers and processions, and later writers said he ordered sneezers blessed since sneezing was an early sign of illness. No contemporary record shows that he did, and the custom is older.
Sneezes were omens long before Christianity. In Homer's Odyssey Telemachus sneezes at the very moment Penelope wishes for Odysseus's return, and she laughs with relief. Greek writers discussed why sneezes seemed holy, and Pliny the Elder, in the 1st century AD, asked why people greet a sneezer and noted that Emperor Tiberius demanded it. Early medieval churchmen such as St Eligius criticised sneeze customs as pagan, which shows they were still very much alive.
The most famous story credits Pope Gregory I, who during the Roman plague of 590 ordered public prayers, with telling people to bless sneezers because sneezing could signal infection. Later writers repeated this, but there is no evidence from Gregory's time that he made such an order, and the custom clearly predates him. Today 'bless you' and 'gesundheit' persist mostly as courtesy, with many languages wishing health rather than invoking God.
Knocking on wood, or touching wood in Britain, is a quick ritual done after praising your own luck or mentioning something you hope will continue, to keep from 'tempting fate'. Its origin is disputed: tree spirits and the Christian cross are popular theories, but folklorists find the custom recorded only from the 1800s.
Crossing the middle finger over the index finger is a gesture to wish for luck or ward off bad luck. Its origin is unknown; the popular stories about early Christians or pagan wishing are unproven, and the gesture is only well documented from the 18th and 19th centuries.
A comfort ritual for someone with a head cold, alongside the strange and charming cold cures of the past, from Pliny's mule kiss to St Blaise's crossed candles and Maimonides's chicken soup. It eases the misery of a cold; it does not cure one, and anyone who is very unwell should see a doctor.
Tell us what you need and we will craft a custom spell, charm or reading for it. Or call to book a reading or a road blessing in person.
