Go Ahead, Say ‘Bless You’

Don’t worry whether it’s politically correct or not—it’s a worthy custom.

Woodcut of Pope Gregory I (540-604) teaching the children.

By Michael Judge

I sneezed the other day near our washing machine and my wife, who was walking by in the hall, said quietly, “Bless you.” Maybe it’s just the holiday season, or our increased understanding of our vulnerability since Covid struck at the start of 2020, but it seemed like the first time I’d ever really heard those two monosyllabic words strung together, Bless you.

In Japan, where my wife is from, it’s generally impolite to say anything when someone sneezes; unless they sneeze over and over—then it is customary to say, Daijobu? (Are you OK?) Which, by the way, works perfectly for nearly any situation. Conveniently, especially for non-polyglots like me, the response is nearly always Daijobu (I’m OK).

Wishing a person good health when they sneezed was traditionally believed to forestall the illness that a sneeze often portends. In the past it was also used as a toast, meaning “to your health,” like Salve (Latin) Salute (…