Your site on British Culture is very useful, thank you! I wonder if you could say something about sneezing in the etiquette section, specifically, whether the person who sneezes needs to say “excuse me” or not, and whether those within hearing distance are required to say “bless you” or not. I am living in the United States and people here tell me that since sneezing is something we naturally can’t help, we don’t have to excuse ourselves for having sneezed. Thanks a lot, SheilaEtiquette of Sneezing
It is considered polite to say “excuse me” after a sneeze.
It is also considered polite to say “Bless you” when somebody sneezes. It is most often said among friends and colleagues but may also be said by a stranger.
The origins of the British “Bless You” are unknown – but have been linked to the Medieval belief that souls could escape from the body during a sneeze.
Acceptable behaviour in England
1
Posts
3 comments:
I was wondering about the custom of kissing when you greet someone? Is it customary in England to kiss a friend when they meet? Or you kiss a friend only if you haven’t seen him /her for a long time?
The custom of kissing is a personal one and will therefore vary from person to person. Some people may kiss a friend everytime they meet, some may only kiss friends whom they have not seen for a while, whilst others may not kiss their friends at all.
As far as saying ‘Bless You’ after you sneeze, I was always told that this dated back to the days of the plague when sneezing was seen as the first sign of infection. However on further investigation there seem to be lots of possibilities. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_bless_you for a more full explaination.
Post a Comment