"God bless you" When you sneeze. What say you?

[amyrose2712]

Do you say it? Do you want it said to you? Does it bother you when someone says it? Would you rather they didn't say it. I have people that say to me "Nothing Bless you" It makes me giggle at their attempts to make me feel bad. Personally I dont need it said to me, but I am still unsure what to say to others that don't really know I am an ignostic-agnostic-atheist ...what say the "militant" :eyes: :eyes: atheists here?

[NMMNG]

1. When someone sneezes I say "gesundheit"

(German for "health"). If someone says "god bless you" when I sneeze I thank them.

[Deep13]

4. Same here. nt

[RebelOne]

7. Me too. n/t

[awoke_in_2003]

21. so do I...

I thank the sentiment. Same thing if someone tells me "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Hanukah". If it is said in good spirit, I return in kind.

[WhollyHeretic]

2. I don't care when someone says "God bless you"

I really don't care if anyone says anything to me at all. It's an annoying tradition. I say "gesundheit" when someone sneezes.

[onager]

3. "Why? Is the Tooth Fairy busy?"

I use that one on a co-worker. She's Jewish but not particularly religious AFAIK. Anyway, she laughed.

Other than that, I don't usually say anything. Like a sneeze, most people seem to say it reflexively. Like a sort of mental sneeze, I guess.

Now if I'm visiting the kin back in Confederistan, I keep my mouth shut and don't launch into a lecture about how I don't believe in any gods. To recycle an old joke, most of my relatives probably wouldn't burn me at the stake. But if somebody else did, they might stop and roast a marshmallow.

[LeftishBrit]

5. I'm not bothered...

I don't associate it with religion, any more than if someone says 'goodbye' which originally meant 'God be with you'. In any case, at least in the UK, people generally say just 'Bless you' without the 'God'.

In any case, even if I don't believe in God, I am quite happy for others to want God to bless me - many good wishes have no chance of coming true. I only mind if people try to use God to control my behaviour (hasn't really happened in my personal life, unless you count a certain former senior colleague as God) or to defend harshness, bigotry or right-wing individuals or laws in public life.

[amyrose2712]

6. I only ask bcause I have had people use it to try to make me feel bad...

like "NOTHING bless you"

[awoke_in_2003]

22. now that you mention it...

I hear "bless you" ten times more than "God bless you". Either way, if it is said with good intention, neither bother me.

[Ian David]

8. I say, "Achoo boogies!" when someone sneezes, if they don't say "Excuse me." n/t

[Iggo]

9. Gesundheit.

[backscatter712]

10. Doesn't bug me.

Usually, I say "Gesundheit" when somebody sneezes around me.

[cleanhippie]

11. Habazam!

Not sure where we picked that up, but its the funniest thing to hear my 2 year old say it!

[immoderate]

12. dupe

--imm

[immoderate]

13. I give my personal blessing.

"Bless you!" I say, sometimes adding, "as much as it's in my power to do so."

I'm also back to yelling "god!" for orgasms.

First I tried yelling the girl's name -- until I got one wrong. Bad time to get a woman pissed at you.

So I tried yelling my own name, but my partner took that as a bit self-absorbed. Not true, but appearances count.

So I settled it out in my mind that there is a god. And it's purpose was to provide something to yell during sex, that couldn't get you into trouble. :)

--imm

[awoke_in_2003]

23. in that instance...

"god" may be the safest thing to yell out :)

[Lars39]

14. I say "scat!", since I usually scare the cat.

That's been my response to anybody that sneezes, if it's appropriate at the time. :)

[onager]

17. Southerners say "scat."

"Bless you," with or without a god attached, was something I didn't really hear until I left the South.

Explanation I got from somewhere: you're telling the devil to "scat," since otherwise he might enter the sneezer's body in that unguarded moment when the sneeze happens.

[Lars39]

18. That's interesting.

I had never heard anyone but my mother and grandmother say "scat".

[Warpy]

15. EEEWWWW! Cover your face, dammit!

or if they did, "geseundheit."

[amyrose2712]

16. Just curious. Gesundheit it is-I just fee insincere saying" God Bless"

and for me I require nothing. My BF likes to push his limits with me and tends to try to annoy and get me to aargue hence the "nothing" bless you. This from a man who send a scathing letter to his father regarding The Knights if Columbus and offered him a discounted Bag O Jesus and sent him links to where he could buy cheap communion hosts. But he refuses to call himself atheist and now that I have accepted the term enjoys ribbing me.

[Rhiannon12866]

19. Na Zdorovie!

Pronounced: Nostrovia. My mother is Polish and that's what we've always said. It means wishing you health. :)

[awoke_in_2003]

20. I say nothing...

unless they sneeze on me

[dmallind]

24. Annoys me but not due to religion etc

They could say "you are a truly wonderful genius" every time I sneezed and it would be annoying. Mostly because I have occasional allergy fits where I sneeze 50-100 times. Once is enough for any pointless conversational nonentity.

[mr blur]

25. I don't say anything,

just as I don't when somebody coughs. Or farts.

Mind you, "God is within you" seems a perfectly reasonable thing to say whenever someone does fart.

[sarcasmo]

26. Salud

[RebelOne]

29. Have also used that. n/t

[JNelson6563]

27. I say "now go wash your hands"

You know your mom would want you to. :)

[amyrose2712]

28. +

[Boudica the Lyoness]

30. "Did I get any on you"?

That's what I say when I sneeze.

[ZombieHorde]

31. I don't care. It is just an automatic response. nt