Superstitions connected with bodily activities - Sneezing

Superstitions connected with bodily activities - Sneezing

Interesting Myths and Superstitions around the world Part VI

SNEEZING

• The Greeks and Romans had a number of formulas for sneezing, such as, "Long may you live!" "May you enjoy good health" "Jupiter preserves you!" 

• Sneezing was often considered a lucky omen among the ancients. Their history is full of events of importance which were ushered in by a sneeze. 

• In India, when a person sneezes, bystanders say, "Live!" and he replies, "With you!" 

• The Zulus believe that an angry spirit enters the body and that a sneeze is an effort of nature to expel it. 

• Aristotle believed that sneezing from noon till midnight was a good omen, but from midnight till the next noon was a sign of bad luck. 

• All nations have some formula for sneezing. The Germans say, ''Zur Gesundheit !" The English say, "God bless you!" The French say, ‘A vos souhaits' 

• If some one sneezes after you have made a statement, it places the seal of truth upon it and the statement may not be doubted. 

• According to mythology Prometheus made an artificial man, and the first sign of life he gave was to sneeze. It was through the nostril that life entered into his body. 

• In the time of Pope St. Gregory the Great, there was an epidemic of sneezing, and many of the afflicted died. The pope thereupon declared that a certain prayer should be uttered every time a person sneezed, to avert the calamity. 

• To sneeze three times in rapid succession is considered a good omen. 

• Physiologically considered in the light of modern science, sneezing is bad, as it spreads the germs of many diseases by spraying them into the air. One should always sneeze into a handkerchief. 

Source" Signs, Omens and Superstitions Book