The Roman Augers used five different systems of omens to fortell events. The fifth was called Dira which covered such events as spilling salt on a table, wine on your clothes, hearing strange noises, stumbling or sneezing. While some people feel that saying "Bless You" or "God Bless You" to someone who has just sneezed is superstitious, it was a common expression in Roman times. In those times sneezing could have been the first sign that the sneezer had the plague and it was said as a blessing.

Some superstitions believe that the devil can enter your body when you sneeze; someone saying, "God bless you," will drive the devil away. Another common belief was that the soul could leave or escape from your body when you sneezed. Covering your mouth while you sneezed prevented this from happening.

"One sneeze, a wish
Two sneezes, a kiss
Three sneezes, a disappointment
Four sneezes, a letter"