When a person sneezes, we say “Bless you.” People do it out of habit and consider it the polite thing to do. We don't do this when someone belches or passes gas, in fact, people expect them to say “Excuse me” out of such courtesy. However during a sneeze, other people excuse them by blessing them. Yet isn't a sneeze an odd thing to bless a bodily reaction to nasal irritants when this culture also gives blessings for important events weddings, new houses and safe births of children?
There are a few theories on the origin of blessing someone during the course of a sneeze. One of the most common theories is that during a sneeze, it was believed in Old Europe during an outbreak of the black plague, a soul was temporarily unguarded and during this time, a devil can snatch your soul away. When someone else said “God bless you,” it was meant to ward off any evils and keep the soul safe from harm. It was said to stem from an actual blessing from the Catholic Church to ward off sickness, which could have been caused by demons.
In other cultures not affected by Europe, sneezes are not a sign that a demon would snatch your soul, however there are other superstitions associated with a sneeze. In Japanese culture, sneezing for absolutely no reason meant that someone was thinking or talking about you. It's very similar to the American superstition of “my ears are burning.”
With that said, aren't there more things in our everyday life deserving of blessing that are not important events?
There are several definitions of a blessing, ranging from invoking divine power for protection to an authority that grants approval (as in a mother giving her blessing for her daughter's marriage) to an encouragement of good luck for a person. From a spiritual standpoint, invoking divine power onto someone else can be very powerful.
So as contrary as it may seem, there are religions and philosophies that suggest that we bless our enemies rather than curse them. It is even written in the New Testament of the Christian Bible under the gospel of Luke 6:27 and 28: “Love your enemies, do good to those who you hate, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” However, blessing an enemy does not mean that you submit to them, agree with their actions, or condone their abuse of you.
The idea is that if you bless your enemies, you are invoking divine power to come and intervene on your behalf. Some people do not like the idea of good things happening to their enemies, but one has to think outside of his or her own conflict when thinking about a blessing. If a good thing happens to someone and stops them from becoming your enemy, wouldn't your prayer have been answered? One cannot control the circumstances of a blessing; you are trusting that something bigger than yourself will intervene as it sees fit.
Other references:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bless_you
http://www.newhope.bc.ca/00-01-30.htm
http://www.bga.com/~wdoud/topics/blessing.html
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