Fun Fact: Sneezing

This might seem like a weird post but its been one of the things I've been meaning to post during my 13 days without good Wi-Fi.

I have noticed that when a person sneezes, no one says Bless you or something like it in Chinese. 

Like 

NO ONE.

Back in the States, it had become a reflex to say Bless you or even Gesundheit to people, even strangers when they sneezed. Now almost always the response will be also be an automatic Thank you.

However here in China, I get looked at weird every time I did that to the point where I have bitten my tongue not to say anything when a person sneezes!!!

Of course at work I do the same, and I say Bless you to my coworkers, who ALSO look at me weird and don't say anything. But now that they have gotten to know me, I have had coworkers ask me "Why do you say that every time I sneeze? What does it mean?"

Huh.

Good question.

You see, back in the Middle Ages, people believed that when a person sneezed, their soul would leave their body by the sneer force of it. Naturally, the Devil and his evil minions would be able to enter your body and take the wheel that is your life and then you'd probably be sent to hell.... or Las Vegas. Whichever is closer

O....kay. 

So we all know this clearly does not happen (maybe, it would explain a lot of people I know.). Sneezes are just part of other body functions we need to survive. Of course, the Middle Ages were not advanced in this common knowledge so, being in a religious time period and all, they came up with the cure to shoo away all the devil and his servants.

To say 

God Bless You.

Uttering these three simple words guaranteed that your body would be shielded from the Devil's and all his mischief.

In fact, if you sneezed and people didn't tell you God Bless you, it meant that you were damned or they were damning you themselves. (Or maybe just they didn't like you)

Now fast forward to my co-workers. The questions were simple but hard to explain and probably have the meaning lost in translation. The only lame answer I could say was:

"It's what people say to someone who sneezes. The normal response is thank you."

My co-workers nodded their head like they understood, but I knew they didn't, and we went about our work.

Still to this day I have a hard time not saying this little protective chant. It just comes out. A little automatic slip of the tongue.

What did you guys think about this little fun fact? I'd love to hear back from you!

Zai Jian!