It was once believed that a person was in great danger when he sneezed①—people imagined that the soul could escape from the body at the moment of sneezing.“God bless you” was a prayer② for assistance in keeping the soul where it belonged.
The German word Gesundheit（good health） is a variation of this prayer；the Irish deiseal③ and the Italian felicita④ are similar prayers. The Hindus say a word that means “live”， and when a Mohammedan sneezes， he praises God.
The Zulus of South Africa， far from being afraid of sneezes， believe that a sneeze signifies a friendly spirit’s blessing. Whenever a child sneezes， they shout “Grow！” hoping the friendly spirit that stimulated⑤ the sneeze will help the child grow tall and strong. The ancient Hebrews also believed that a sneeze was good—a sneeze indicates life；the dead never sneeze.
The Japanese say that if you sneeze once， someone is saying good things about you；if you sneeze twice. bad things are being said about you；if you sneeze three times， you have caught a cold.
① sneezev. 打喷嚏
② prayern. 祈祷，祷告[C][U]
③ deisealn.爱尔兰语，prayer的变体
④ felicitan.意大利语，prayer的变体
⑤ stimulatev. 刺激；激励；使兴奋；促使[(+to/into)]
假如你打三次喷嚏
从前，人们相信，当一个人打喷嚏时，他便大难临头——人们曾认为，灵魂可能在打喷嚏的一刹那逃出躯体。“愿上帝保佑你”便是一句祈求救助、使灵魂不脱离归属之处的祷告语。
德文字Gesundheit（健康）就是这句祷告语的变体；爱尔兰语的deiseal和意大利语的felicita也是类似的祈祷词。印度教信徒们说的那个词，意思是“活着”。当一个穆斯林打喷嚏时，他就在赞美上帝。
南非的粗鲁族人，对打喷嚏一点也不害怕。他们相信，一个喷嚏便意味着一位友好神灵的祝福。一个孩子无论何时打喷嚏，他们都大声嚷道：“快长吧！”他们希望那促成喷嚏的友好神灵保佑这孩子长得高大健壮。古希伯来人也相信喷嚏是好兆头——喷嚏意味着生命，死者是从不打喷嚏的。
日本人说，假如你打一次喷嚏，那是别人在说你的好话；如果你打两次喷嚏，那是别人在说你的坏话；如果你打三次喷嚏，那你就是患上了感冒。