Blessing After a Sneeze Comes From the Fear of Losing Your Soul

While seasoning the steak you're ready to grill in the kitchen, you suddenly get a snoot full of pepper and sneeze viciously. Your friend says "bless you" from the other room, and the rest of your day goes on as usual. Your friend might have just saved your soul from the Devil, whether you know it or not.

It has been customary since ancient times to say "bless you" or "God bless you" after sneezing. Even the Greeks and Romans practiced it. Long ago, it was thought that sneezing might cause your soul to leave your body, leaving you a lifeless corpse of an abomination.

There was a worry that when you sneezed, Satan would take advantage of the opportunity to get into you and set up residence. Therefore, blessing someone was a way to avoid being subject to such a stygian migration. The anxiety of becoming possessed and soulless vanished after being blessed.