"God bless you." Many Taiwanese hear this said by a foreigner after they sneeze and think, "Why on earth did he/she say that?" Why do we say this? Well, I have found two explanations about the origin of this phrase. The first is that Pope Gregory the Great introduced the phrase during a plague in the 6th century, in hopes that it would ward off the disease, or to wish the sneezer God's grace, because he or she would soon die. Another legend states that the phrase came about during the Middle Ages for much the same reason. This became a custom that continues today, regardless of what actually caused the person to sneeze. If someone says "God bless you" to you after you sneeze, an appropriate response is simply, " Thank you." If any reader finds a different explanation to why Westerners say "God bless you,"
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