What do you tell an atheist when they sneeze?

So what to say? “God bless you” is a hollow phrase as it is, but from an avowed atheist and humanist, it’s pretty egregious. Actually, English-speaking countries are among the only ones that seem to focus on religious superstitions in their sneezesponses (sneeze responses—you’re welcome, Oxford English Dictionary).

What are alternatives to saying bless you?

2 Answers. The most common alternative response that I’m aware of, especially in American English, is “Gesundheit!”. Gesundheit! is borrowed from German, and literally means “Health!”. Actually “Bless you!” (often uttered as “bleshoo”) can be considered as the secular (or neutral) version of “God bless you!”.

Is it rude to not say bless you after sneezing?

When people don’t say bless you, we begin to suspect they don’t care about our well-being. As etiquette columnist Miss Manners once observed, it’s considered more rude for people getting hit with snot shrapnel to bypass the bless you than it is for the person detonating the germ bombs to fail to say excuse me.

When someone coughs What do you say?

If you are the one who is coughing, after you are finished, you say things like, “I’m sorry,” or “Excuse me.” You might try to reassure the other person that you are not contagious by saying things like, “It’s just allergies,” or “I just had a tickle in my throat,” or “Something must have gone down the wrong way.”

Why do we not say bless you when someone coughs?

One of the symptoms of the plague was coughing and sneezing, and it is believed that Pope Gregory I (Gregory the Great) suggested saying “God bless you” after a person sneezed in hopes that this prayer would protect them from an otherwise certain death. The expression may have also originated from superstition.

What do you say in response to God bless you?

you too! “Be well,” said with a smile. The origin of “goodbye” (hence “bye”) is “God be with you”, so it is about on the same level. I think “goodbye” (or perhaps “goodbye to you, too”) could be appropriate, just “bye” perhaps not so much.

What do u say when someone coughs?

Is Bless me a thing?

used in this fashion, but both Bless me! (used on other occasions) and Bless you! (used on various occasions, including in response to someone sneezing) are examples of the formulaic subjunctive. They both derive from longer phrases, God bless me! and God bless you!

How do you say “Bless You” to someone who sneezes?

That goes for names of weekdays and months as well as phrases like “bless you”. Therefore atheists should simply say “bless you” because everybody knows what that means. If you desperately need to say something different, you could go for the german phrase “Gesundheit!” which simply is a wish for health for the person who sneezed.

How do you say “Bless You” to an atheist?

Therefore atheists should simply say “bless you” because everybody knows what that means. If you desperately need to say something different, you could go for the german phrase “Gesundheit!” which simply is a wish for health for the person who sneezed.

What is proper sneezing etiquette?

Proper sneezing etiquetteincludes many steps that people often ignore. When a person sneezes, he should always cover his nose and mouth with a tissue, or the crook of his elbow, to avoid spreading germs. He should then quietly say, “excuse me.” If possible, he should leave the room before blowing his nose.

Can a powerful sneeze expel a person’s soul?

It was once thought that a powerful sneeze could expel a person’s soul. Saying, “Bless you!” would cast a protective shield around the soul so it could return to the body before Satan had a chance to snatch it. A sneeze was the body’s way of expelling an invading evil spirit. Saying, “Bless you!”