Wednesday, January 12, 2005

Mixed Blessings

She sneezed—I guess. I passed by and she had fixed me with a gaze that made me ask, “What is the matter?”
“Well” she stated, “most people say something after a person sneezes.” Cad that I am I failed to give the customary blessing following a nasal discharge.
I informed her that I do not normally do that because of the rather absurd lineage of the custom. I told her how the practice came to light in the Dark Ages when the ignorant gentry of Europe thought the sneeze was an act of the person’s soul trying to escape its corporeal vessel, something I thought would resonate with my Pagan leaning Bride.
She felt it would still be polite of me to deliver the normal reponse, to which I replied, “I’m sorry, I just don’t normally think I need to say God Bless you in order to cram your soul back up your nose.”
Physiology, social traditions, and medieval history: Just a peek into a random conversation that plays out under our roof.

Posted by Anonymous :: 6:16 AM :: | ---------------------------------------