Bless you

[kEVIN reeves]

How did the expression 'bless you' - when someone sneezes - arise?

[mbuxton]

It arso during the plague of 1665. One of the symptoms of the plague was sneezing. So 'Bless You' was said as victims died.

[JohnPPotts]

I'd heard that in medieval times it was thought that sneezing was your body expelling an evil spirit - you bless the person to prevent the spirit re-entering.