Alternatives to saying "bless you"? - Page 2

[chfriend]

Slainte...or bless your buttons....

I sneeze incredibly loudly so mostly my sneezes are met with gasps of horror.

[zeldabee]

Originally Posted by chfriend

Slainte...or bless your buttons....

I sneeze incredibly loudly so mostly my sneezes are met with gasps of horror.

Heh. I had a co-worker refer to mine as "James Brown sneezes."

[turtlewomyn]

After living in Costa Rica for a while I was in the habit of saying "Salud!" and sometimes I use the german (can't spell it though, and am too lazy to look back at the other posts). Mostly I say "Bless you." which is funny because we are atheists. DH likes to say to DD: "Bless you my child, for you have sneezed."

[Kirsten]

Gesundheit. I'm not religious so bless you seemed wrong for me.

I think it is interesting to see who thanks you for blessing or gesundheiting them, then who says you're welcome. How far it goes, you know?

sneeze
"gesundheit"
"thank you"
"you're welcome"

I actually like the exchange, although some people prefer to let it end after bless you or gesundheit.

[KalamazooMom]

Originally Posted by MettaSutta

I was always taught to say "gesundheit!", which is "to your health" in German.

I've never felt comfortable with "bless you" and gesundheit is more fun to say.

Me too. We say gesundheit.

[molarmama]

Well, If its my brother and sister, I say "GROSS!" The sibling rivalry doesn't end as an adult. But otherwise I say god bless you. My kids think I'm saying Ah bless you.

[AllisonR]

I was going to post Gesundheit, but I can see it's been covered.

I loved the turkish exchange that the 2nd poster linked too. And the post about sneezing and orgasms. Yes, I also believe that person has never sneezed before.

[bellacymom]

Originally Posted by CarrieMF

Most of the time I don't say anything. I don't really get why we say anything when someone else sneezes.

I am so glad I am not the only one. I am so annoyed if I have to sneeze more than once and I feel like I have to rush my sneezes to say thank you or if someone says bless you everytime you sneeze in a row of sneezes. Maybe I am just weird. Well maybe me AND my DH are weird because he doesn't say it either.

Originally Posted by CarrieMF

If I sneeze I'll say "excuse me", but I taught myself a long time ago how to sneeze without making noise.lol

I don't make much noise either but I end up sounding like a bird chirping and everyone makes fun of me.

[bellacymom]

Originally Posted by zeldabee

Heh. I had a co-worker refer to mine as "James Brown sneezes."

LOL my dad sounds like he is yelling and it scares my kids everytime he does it. He also sneezes like 8 times in a row.

[~PurityLake~]

Originally Posted by molarmama

Well, If its my brother and sister, I say "GROSS!" The sibling rivalry doesn't end as an adult. But otherwise I say god bless you. My kids think I'm saying Ah bless you.

well, hold on a minute, she said it uses the same muscles, not that it feels the same.

[RubyWild]

I'd rather people ignored my involuntary bodily functions.

[North_Of_60]

Originally Posted by CarrieMF

Most of the time I don't say anything. I don't really get why we say anything when someone else sneezes. If I sneeze I'll say "excuse me", but I taught myself a long time ago how to sneeze without making noise.lol

Originally Posted by RubyWild

I'd rather people ignored my involuntary bodily functions.

Yep. I understand the folk lore behind the "blessing" people for sneezing thing (the plague and all that), but people, it's 2008. When I sneeze it's not because I'm coming down with the plague, and I don't need you to bless me. It's just a sneeze!

So with that said, we don't say anything at all. If it's a particularly boogery one I might say "oh boy, excuse you!", but that's about it. And when someone says "bless you" to me, it sort of leaves me dumbfounded and at a loss for a response, being an atheist and all. Please don't bless me! Not even in other languages.

[RubyWild]

Originally Posted by CarrieMF

Most of the time I don't say anything. I don't really get why we say anything when someone else sneezes. If I sneeze I'll say "excuse me", but I taught myself a long time ago how to sneeze without making noise.lol

I am the loudest sneezer. I only sneeze once, but wow. I wish my sneezes weren't so overwhelming. I wish I could train myself to do them quietly. I don't mean by stifling them, but just more reasonable so I don't scare myself and the birds.

[kaPOW!]

I say "ooo, sneezy!" Hahaha. Apparently I'm a huge dork.

[EVC]

Dh and I always say "znachit pravda" --Russian for "that means it's the truth"--from the superstition that when somebody sneezes, the last thing said in the conversation is true.

[tbone_kneegrabber]

"you sneezed"

[beccalou79]

Originally Posted by artgoddess

I'm going to hope this means that you have never sneezed before.

[~PurityLake~]

I say 'AH-chooo' to my daughters after they sneeze, or right before when I can tell one is on it's way, just to get giggles out of them.

[Turkish Kate]

The Turkish response is "Çok yaşa" (choke yah-sha), meaning "long life."

The response to that is "sen de gör" (sen da gore) "may you see it" or "hep beraber" (pronounced just like it looks), meaning "all together."

[Collinsky]

:

We grew up never saying "Bless you" or anything. The superstition behind bless you just wasn't part of our beliefs. Not saying that someone's soul *couldn't* pop out of their body with a sneeze, and be easily snatched up by the devil :devilfire: but it never made sense to me to say it. I think if we'd said it as a child, we'd have gotten a long lecture on the phrase's origins and meaning and why we don't say that "in this family" LOL! Like it was a swear.

So it's not been part of my habit to think "A sneeze! Say something quick!" But as an adult it's been difficult not to fall into that, as it's so common, and my Dh does it reflexively. I definitely have a block about saying "Bless you," but saying "Salud" comes pretty naturally. Dh is PR so using the Spanish feels like a connection to that culture for me. And I luhurve saying Amor, Dinero, and y mucho gusto a vivir for "extra sneezes!" I figure why not heap the blessings on!

I also like the idea of saying Slainte... so lovely.