When someone sneezes, what do you say?
According to a web site run by an organization called the Cultural Exchange Board (CEB), it seems that a sneeze is followed with some sort of positive acknowledgement the world over.
“Gesundheit” of course is the German word for “health.” But in some places, sneeze responses get a little more complicated than simply “health” or “bless you.”
In Japan, for instance, there are four comebacks for sneezes, depending on the number of sneezes sneezed. And after the first achoo, the gloves are off. Sneeze number one receives a word of praise, but the second receives disparagement, the third receives ridicule and the fourth is simply a recognition that a cold must be coming on.
Sneezers in many Hispanic cultures also get four responses. The first sneeze receives “health” – in this case, “salud” – followed by “health and money” for the second sneeze and “health and money and love” for the third. But there’s no such blessing for the fourth sneeze, which merely receives an “alergias” – an observation that the sneezer must have allergies.
