Friday, March 16, 2007

On the importance of sneezing


Following is an excerpt from Wikipedia:

Among the pagans of Flanders, a sneeze was an omen. When Saint Eligius warned the pagans against their druidical practices, according to his companion and biographer Ouen, he included the following: "Do not observe auguries or violent sneezing or pay attention to any little birds singing along the road. If you are distracted on the road or at any other work, make the sign of the cross and say your Sunday prayers with faith and devotion and nothing inimical can hurt you."

In Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia and some Middle Eastern countries a sneeze that occurs after making a statement is sometimes interpreted as a confirmation by God that the statement was true.

In Japan, a common superstition holds a person sneezes when they are being talked about or badmouthed behind their back or by a person far away.

It is a common belief in India that someone who randomly sneezes remembers or is remembered by someone dear to him or her. Most Indians consider sneezing healthy, and the inability to sneeze to be cause for alarm. Psychology Today reports that Indian scientists have labeled an inability to sneeze "asneezia"; the people of India have long used snuff as a way to artificially induce sneezing.

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