為什么打完噴嚏后要bless you?

“Bless you” or “God bless you” is a common English expression. People often say it to a person after he sneezes （打噴嚏）. The origin of the custom and its original purpose are unknown. Here are several possible origins.

“保佑你”或者“上帝保佑你”是一個很常見的英語表達。人們經常在別人打了噴嚏之后說這句話。這個習俗的起源和它最初的目的都不為人知。以下是幾個關于它的可能的來源。

Gregory I became Pope in 590. Bubonic plague (淋巴腺瘟疫) was reaching Rome. In the hope of fighting against the disease， Gregory I ordered prayers to hold parades (游行) and chant along the streets. At the time， sneezing was an early symptom (癥狀) of the plague. So “God bless you” or “Bless you” became a remedy to the disease.

公元590年，格里高利一世成為了教皇。當時羅馬城爆發了一場淋巴腺瘟疫（又叫“黑死病”）。為了與病魔做斗爭，格里高利一世下令祈禱者沿街游行吟唱。那時打噴嚏恰是這種瘟疫的早期癥狀之一。于是“上帝保佑你”便成了治病的常規方法之一了。

Another version says that people used to believe that your soul can be thrown from your body when you sneeze. Because sneezing could open your body and Devil or evil spirits might invade (入侵) in your body. Thus， “God bless you” is used as a shield (屏障) against evil.

另一種說法認為人們曾經相信打噴嚏的時候靈魂會從身體中被甩出，因為噴嚏會打開你的身體，從而受到魔鬼或者其它邪靈的入侵。由此，“上帝保佑你”被用來表示防御魔鬼的入侵。

The third version is that when you are sneezing， your heart will stop beating suddenly. The phrase “God bless you” or “Bless you” is meant to ensure your heart to beat again.

第三種說法認為，當你打噴嚏時你的心臟就會瞬間停止跳動。說“上帝保佑你”是為了確保你的心臟重新跳動起來。

Another belief is that people used to see sneezing as a sign that God would answer your prayers or a sign of good fortune or good luck. In this case， “God bless you” would be in recognition (認可) of that luck.

還有一種說法是人們通常認為打噴嚏是上帝聽見了你的祈禱的預兆，或者是一種財富或者幸運的預兆。在這種情況下，“上帝保佑你”就是對那種幸運的認可。