"bless you"

“ Bless You”

                                         

Why? Why are these words spoken?

The Romans would say "Jupiter preserve you" or "Salve," which meant "good health to you," and the Greeks would wish each other "long life." The ph

rase "God bless you" is attributed to Pope Gregory the Great, who uttered it in the sixth century.

When? When did this saying originate?

Wishing someone well after they sneeze probably originated thousands of years ago.

How? How did this saying originate?

Back in the middle ages, sneezing was one of the first signs of the bubonic plague, which killed people off pretty quickly and had a death toll over 25 million people, and the person didn't always have a chance to get their Last Rites, so saying 'bless you.

Where? Where did this saying originate?

One traditional explanation for the custom is that it began literally as a blessing. Pope Gregory I the Great (AD 540-604) ascended to the Papacy just in time for the start of the bubonic plague in AD 590 (his successor succumbed to it). To combat the plague, Gregory ordered litanies, processions and unceasing prayer for God's intercession.