The easier way is to get used to sneezing and that is what I am doing now.
But, people around me are blessing me whenever I sneeze. In my childhood, never heard of it. If we get hiccoughs while eating, my mother will say, "Somebody is thinking about you!". Nice sentimental thing to say. But, sneezing? No, we were never blessed in our little towns of Tamilnadu. So, what is this ritual?There are many stories about the origin of this 'Bless You' ritual. Tried to search in the net and got some interesting facts. The most popular explanations were two.
One, most people believed that the heart stops when you sneeze, and the phrase "bless you" is meant to ensure the return of life or to encourage your heart to continue beating. This sounds quite scientific, but surely is not true. Because, people are blessing me only during the last couple of years, even though I started sneezing right from my childhood and still managed to survive and my heart didn't seem to have stopped.Two, - and I like this - Your soul can be thrown from your body when you sneeze, and saying "bless you" prevents your soul from being stolen by Satan or some evil spirit. Thus, "bless you" or "God bless you" is used as a sort of shield against evil. Some people have even written that, this stops evil spirit from entering into our body through the mouth and throat.
If this were true, I am the most soulless person during the last four months. The way I have been sneezing, any soul - if there was one - would have decided to quit and gone in search of a more comfortable place to live.
However, the current breed of doctors are just saying that it is not so much a shield against evil spirits as against bacteria and the like. "Bless you" in response to a sneeze might be to bless or thank a person who sneezes but covers his or her mouth and nose with a tissue, handkerchief or even a sleeve as an act of concern and courtesy to others, in order to avoid spreading the germs expelled so as not to sicken other people. Presumably, a person who fails to demonstrate such concern and courtesy by not covering the mouth and nose during a sneeze would not be blessed or thanked.But, many bloggers have written that these days, one says "Bless you!" because it is expected, not out of concern for the wellbeing of the sneezer's soul or a need to disassociate oneself from the dying. It is more a socially done thing. Saying 'Bless You!' has become as much an involuntary or beyond-our-control thing like sneezing itself.
Nowadays, if I start sneezing, it is not just once. My nose will be satisfied only if there are four or five episodes. People trying to bless me are having a tough time catching up with me. Is there any norm for such quick-succession of sneezes? Apparently, there is. "During a multiple sneeze episode, bless once after the first sneeze and once after the last. Blessing each time gets tiring." Lo! But, I wonder how they will know this is the last one and I am not going to sneeze after that?
There are other interesting facts as well. Sneezing can send tiny particles speeding out of your nose at up to 100 miles per hour! Wow! Scientists should start devising methods to harness this enormous energy. Invent some small machine (in the shape and size of a napkin, of course) which can store this energy into a battery or something when people sneeze, and use it to light your torch or calculator or something like that.
I have seen cats and dogs also sneeze. It seems, except squirrels, almost all the animals sneeze. Why not Squirrels? There you have me. I wouldn't go near an elephant when it sneezes. But, a cat sneezing is supposed to be a good omen for everyone who hears it. Other superstitions say that a cat sneezing once means there will be rain; if a cat sneezes three times, the family will catch a cold; and a sneezing cat is a sign of future wealth.
It may be good to have a sneezing cat around. But, many people start sneezing when there is any cat around! Cat-22 problem?
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