September 20, 2011
Bless you, or God bless you, is a common English expression addressed to a person after they sneeze. In non-English-speaking cultures, words referencing good health or a long life are often used instead of ‘bless you,’ though some also use references to God. English speakers also respond to sneezing with the German word Gesundheit, which means ‘health.’
The origin of the custom and its original purpose is unknown. Several possible origins are commonly given. The practice of blessing someone who sneezes, dating as far back as at least 77 CE, however, is far older than most specific explanations can account for.
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September 20, 2011
Superstition is a belief in a non-physical (i.e. supernatural) causality: that one event causes another without any physical process linking the two events. The word is often used pejoratively to refer to practices (e.g. Voodoo) other than the one prevailing in a given society (e.g. Christianity in western culture), although the prevailing religion may contain just as many supernatural beliefs.
It is also commonly applied to beliefs and practices surrounding luck, prophecy and spiritual beings, particularly the belief that future events can be foretold by specific unrelated prior events.
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