"Bless you!" she said when I sneezed loudly in class, nearly startling every one awake. Looking around, I nodded politely to the gold-cross wearing girl to my left. Did she not know that I'm not religious, nor that I don't believe in God? I thought. Of course not. There are no identifying marks on me, like the golden emblem that blazed from her low cut blouse that attracted as much attention to her cleavage as well as to declare her beliefs.
For the next two days I thought about this. Why would someone tell me "bless you"? The origin is Christian in nature. They once believe that the soul was trying to escape when you sneezed, thus the original saying was "God bless you" so that your soul would be locked in the body and you wouldn't die. An old wives tale, as you would have it. Silly superstitions of the days long passed.
On the third day of my meditations, I over heard someone saying "Salud!" after someone in the line for the movie theatre sneezed. Salud? What is that from? I had to know. Later that night, I went home and looked it up. Salud is Spanish for "health", with the same connotation as wishing someone good health. In this case, it was the same as "bless you", the shortened form of "God bless you".
This appeals to me as I'm not one to assume that everyone is of the same atheist religion as I am. So, I've taken to saying "salud" instead of the robotic meaningless response of "bless you" that would me nothing to me, if I put the full meaning behind it.
The meditations lasted well beyond just the meanings behind what people say in this manner. As I was watching the news skate by on the glowing box, it was brought to my attention that everyone wants the right to believe what they want to believe and not be told they can't practise their beliefs during a coverage of the newest craze in the Intelligent Design lobbies. Why then, should I be forced to tolerate that others would say "bless you"? I'm not religious. I don't force my secularism on others, but their little worlds are constantly pervading every aspect of my life.
Should we be forced to brand ourselves like the Jewish people that were forced to show their religious aliances during the Holocaust? Should we be sequestered into communes? This would certainly prevent anyone from being insulted by another's beliefs that are supposed to be protected under the "freeom of reglion" covered under the bill of rights.
That would be a bit extreme. Christians of many denominations proudly display their religious choices, fight for any and all rights, even to the point of religious genocide. At what point will the others that believe in what they want to believe in fight back?
The meditations go round in circles looking for signs in the culture that I live in. When will it make sense to any and all people regardless of beliefs? When will the Freedom of Religion be realised for everyone? When will people stop being offended by simple things, or will everything have to be secular, including well wishing?
Salud! I really like that. I've always liked saying Gesundheit, which I believe also means good health. I always felt weird saying "Bless You" pretty much for the same reasons you bring up in your blog. I wouldn't want to say "God Bless You" to someone who does not believe in God, simply because it wouldn't mean much to them. Wishing good health sounds so much better. Maybe we should just start saying "good health" in English and start a new trend!
As a girl who grew up with a German grandfather, I usually say gesundheit, but sometimes I do say "bless you." For some people it probably is an expression of their beliefs, but to me it's more of a reflex or even whatever pops into my silly little head first.
This post brings up some interesting questions, though, such as the issue of political correctness and religious tolerance. I know that there was a time when certain people (coughBillO'Reillycough) was making a big deal about stores that put up "Happy Holidays" signs and displays rather than "Merry Christmas." The argument seemed ridiculous, since it seemed like it was simply a matter of inclusion rather than "political correctness run rampant." Christians shouldn't feel persecuted by the fact that their holiday isn't expressly mentioned, and if they did, then they're just being silly in my opinion. However, I can see someone who didn't celebrate feeling shunned by a country that didn't recognize any other holiday. Christianity is not our offiical religion in this country and as such all other religions should be recognized and given equal importance.
The response that John Stewart gave to Bill O'Reilley's comments on The Daily Show was hilarious, as well.
On the other hand, for personal interactions I'm not sure that it's the same thing. If someone were to wish me "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Hanukkah," I'd appreciate the intention behind the words rather than their religious connotations. In that case, I know that someone isn't trying to push their beliefs on me or be intolerant of mine because I'm not branded by my religious affiliation and it just gets too complicated to try and figure it out in a short meeting. For me, it's the same thing as "bless you."
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Honest disagreement is often a good sign of progress. --Mahatma Gandhi
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Interesting views. I guess it comes down to who's right we trample.
I thought the origin of well wishing was because the heart stops for a breif micro second with each sneeze. Of course I go tot thinking that the terms are from before knowledge.
Side note: the reason behind covering a yawn use to be so the we would not trade demons.
I love how folklore is eventual perpetuated by science.
Good points
~T
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I wrote this brief story to share with you all because I'm trying to increase my writing skills. It occurred to me one day that I say "bless you" without thinking. My boyfriend grew up in a Spanish speaking family and he says "salud" without thinking. It is a matter of culture. It doesn't bother me one bit.
However, it would others. I have to question the boundaries of being nice, knowing what others want to hear, and, perhaps, being myself and portraying my own heritage that I grew up with. These questions really are on my mind. I have to think of them a lot more now that I'm in a different culture and they ask me why we do things a lot.
I noted the rest of you caught a little more of the meaning each time. I am fed up with political correctness. I don't mean to offend anyone when I say something as simple as a well wishing. I hope that in the future, I am capable of just simply saying, "Good health!"
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