I say Gezundheit. It’s Yiddish (also German) for health like salud in Spanish. I grew up with that.

I think saying bless you us an automatic response and is said more out of an attempt at politeness than having any religious meaning. As humans we do alot of odd things simply because they are the "socially acceptable" things to do.

The reason people say that is because a long time ago it was thought that sneezing stopped your heart. i hate it when people say that but i suppose they are being polite. you are NOT thin skinned.

If you get the chance to be around when they sneeze use Gesundheit instead, it might subtly send your message.

You say it because imps and demons are floating around you just waiting for you to open your mouth so they can fly into you and inflict their evil on you. By saying bless you, the imps and demons are distracted and, like Trump's Wall that will keep the illegal immigrants out of the USA, they are prevented from entering your mouth.

I just say gezzhundheit, it's secular and cultural.

In my experience they certainly do say this in the UK

After two sneezes I say "will you please stop showing off!"

I never say bless you, some people will ask me about, i guess they think im rude. I just tell them i don't say "bless you" because i don't believe evil spirits are entering their bodies when they sneeze, which is where the saying came from

The term , " to bless, " means to make happy . Why would you feel insulted , when someone wishes you happiness ? Just say thank you , and get on with it .

When you sneeze (like burping) you should just say "excuse me". There is no need to respond to crazy comments by others....no one asked them to "bless you"...that's on them, not you.

Yes I think you are thin skinned. When someone says 'bless you' I hardly think they mean that god or jesus is suddenly going to come and do it. It is just something one says to show that one cares.

Personally speaking, I need all of the blessings I can accrue.

Thin skinned..

LIFE can bless anyone, as it has me.

I feel the same. In Japan and other Asian countries they don't say it either.

To be clearer: it does not offend me, I just find it unnecessary , and annoying due to the religious association of the word bless. I'm just thin skinned.

I'm always saying, "Oh, my god"!! Then I say, "just a figure of speech". (Ha!)

Your sneeze response makes me think of this.

For years, most of my Hispanic students tell me the proper response to "Bless you" is "Thank you," not "excuse me."

Although a couple of times they got into arguments about this. So now I say, "Excuse me, thank you." No one has complained so far.

i say "bless you" when people sneeze, but then i add the following admonishment: "these are MY blessings, and i have a limited supply, so you only get two." it is easy enough to hand out someone else's blessings, isn't it? -- especially when that someone else doesn't exist and therefore cannot protest! an atheist's blessings are much more valuable.

g

You're sooooooo good lookin'.