That’s such a fascinating question…I’ll answer it in three parts.

Part one:

“God Bless You” is traced back to ancient times when people believed that every sneeze you had could be caused by an evil spirit attacking your body that required immediate blessings to rid yourself of it. This is also why “God Save You” is said in some countries.

Part two:

“Bless You” is traced back to the middle ages, when sneezing was considered a symptom of infection or illness. So people would say “Bless You” to wish someone well after a sneeze.

Part three

It’s a tradition that dates back to the middle ages. In those days, it was believed that sneezing was an early sign of the Black Death, so people would say “God bless you” to ask God to protect the person from that fatal illness.