Title: God Bless You

General Information about Item:

• Customary Folklore: American Superstition
• Language: English
• Country of Origin: Unknown
• Informant: Carl Marvin
• Date Collected: November 4, 2018

Informant Data:

• Carl Marvin is a freshman at Carleton College. He grew up in Wilmington, Delaware with one younger sister and one younger brother. Carl spends his time working out and playing golf with his friends. He is a member of the varsity Football Team and studies Economics at Carleton College.

Contextual Data:

• Social Context: The informant was interviewed over phone call in regard to his superstition. He says that his parents taught him to say “God Bless You” after someone sneezes because the person’s heart skips a beat and they are blessed to be unharmed from it. If he doesn’t say God Bless You, it will give both of them bad karma. It is something Carl does every time he hears someone sneeze.
• Cultural Context: While Carl says God Bless You out of superstition, many Americans say it out of politeness. It is considered rude not say God Bless You.

Item:

• If someone sneezes, another person should say “God Bless You” or it spells bad luck for the person who sneezed. It may even spell bad luck for the person who didn’t say God Bless You.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Transcript of Associated File:

• “My superstition is about sneezing—because—I was taught that when you sneeze your heart skips a beat, so it’s always important to say “God Bless You” because it gives you bad karma if you don’t.”

Informants Comments:

• “It gives you bad karma if you don’t (say it).”

Collector’s Comments:

• Saying God Bless You is one of the most common superstitions in American culture.

Collector’s Name: Oliver Campbell

Tags/Keywords:

• American. Superstition. God Bless You. Conversion Superstition.