wiffleball 4,646 Posted March 2, 2007 Are you sposed to say "thank you" after someone "God Blesses You"? What if you sneeze throughout the day? Still with the Thank You's? If you keep sneezing, at what point is it okay to punch someone in the face for repeatedly saying "God Bless You!" Is bless you better than Geshundeidt? Nobody says that anymore Is Gesundeidt German for Bless You? If so, why German? Why not Swedish? WTF? Isn't there some kinda distance rule - I mean, If I'm in my office and the dude o/s in a cube keeps "blessing" me - can I kick him in the nards? Same token: If I close my door, but you KNOW he hears the sneeze, is he still obligated to bless me? ettiquette sucks as much as springtime allergies. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
frank 2,147 Posted March 2, 2007 You're sooo good-lookin. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bier Meister 1,514 Posted March 2, 2007 Are you sposed to say "thank you" after someone "God Blesses You"? yes. What if you sneeze throughout the day? Still with the Thank You's? yes. If you keep sneezing, at what point is it okay to punch someone in the face for repeatedly saying "God Bless You!" 7 Is bless you better than Geshundeidt? Nobody says that anymore see below Is Gesundeidt German for Bless You? If so, why German? Why not Swedish? WTF? see below Isn't there some kinda distance rule - I mean, If I'm in my office and the dude o/s in a cube keeps "blessing" me - can I kick him in the nards? no... just say it's not necesarry Same token: If I close my door, but you KNOW he hears the sneeze, is he still obligated to bless me?no.... closed door is private space (even if you are unintentionally heard). ettiquette sucks as much as springtime allergies. Gesundheit (German pronunciation (help·info)) (IPA pronunciation: [ɡəˈzʊnthaɪt]) is the German and Yiddish word for health. When a person sneezes, German and Yiddish speakers typically say Gesundheit! to wish them good health, serving much the same purpose as "bless you" in English. The expression arrived with early German immigrants, such as the Pennsylvania Dutch, and doubtless passed into local English usage in areas with substantial German-speaking populations.[1] The expression is first widely attested in American English as of 1910, about the time when large numbers of Yiddish-speaking Ashkenazi Jews immigrated to the United States. Often the word, when used in an English context, is mispronounced as [ɡəˈzʊntaɪd] or [ɡəˈzʊntaɪt], and misspelled as "gazoontite" or "gazoontide". Origin There are different theories regarding the origin of this phrase. One idea is that the expression stems from the Middle Ages when the Bubonic Plague was threatening European health. In this case the person saying gesundheit was actually wishing good health upon themselves, since they may have been infected by the one who sneezed. During this time it was also commonly believed that sneezing made one's body vulnerable to evil spirits. Thus another plausible explanation is that gesundheit was a blessing to ward off demons while the sneezer's body was defenseless. Superstitions date back as early as Ancient Greece (ref. Herodotus, History 440 BC). The soul was thought to leave the body through the nose upon death, so a powerful sneeze was thus considered an ominous event. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
