Sorry, Brad, I’m stealing the post.
When Brad was here and he sneezed, I forgot to say, “Bless you.” He commented on it and said he appreciated it. He wonders why people still adhere to an old superstition – that you bless someone so their spirit won’t leave their body or a devil won’t enter it or whatever. He wants people to become aware of that.
The more he explained it, the clearer it became. I googled it and found that many cultures throughout the centuries have had their own sneeze reply, but by far the best one is from the ancient Romans: Jupiter preserve you. It became the joke of the summer after anyone sneezed, and I must confess, I say it mentally now after reflexively saying ‘Bless you’.