He never says bless you...?

[lighthousegirl]

So I've been going out with my boyfriend for a few months now and although he's not a very sneezy guy, I've seen him sneeze quite a few times. I always say "bless you," in the hope of starting up a conversation about sneezing. He's irish and just hearing him say the word "sneeze," would be a ridiculous turn-on. However, this has not been successful thus far. :-( The thing that confuses me is that he is a very strong Christian and therefore I would expect him to always say "bless you," when I, or someone else, sneezes. Instead he pretends it hasn't happened. HOWEVER, if I am ever the least bit sniffly (which considering we live in a very cold, rainy country is quite a lot) he always asks, full of concern, "are you coming down with a cold hun?" I would absolutely LOVE to hear him say "bless you," in that accent of his, I don't know why he doesn't. Any thoughts?

[Sophie<3]

Sorry, darling, I'm not sure I know why he doesn't bless you. My only idea would be that he's so religious that he doesn't like bringing up God in a non-religious context, like, he doesn't like the fact that people who don't believe in God use the phrase "God bless you" and therefore avoids using it himself...? Maybe you could just bring the topic up playfully, like when you sneeze and he says nothing ask him whether he's heard of blessing people ironically and sort of joke about it, then he might tell you why he never says it. You don't have to act like it's a big deal, though!

And by the way, you're lucky! He asks you whether you're coming down with a cold when you're sniffly? That's ADORABLE! Seriously, I wish my boyfriend would say that! So obviously, he cares a lot about you. And wanting to hear an Irish boy say the word "sneeze"? I can relate. I melt when Australians say it!

[AdrianMarx]

I like Sophie's suggestion of bringing it up ironically. That would probably be the best way to find out and it's better than asking him outright, isn't it? Or, I suppose, you could just ask him and see gauge his reaction?

It's odd that he checks up on you when you're sniffly but doesn't actually bless you. That's a new one. Hm, I can't say I have an theories as to why that might be. He sounds pretty polite from the way you've described him so it would seem likely that's what he would do. Maybe it is just a comfort thing. It's possible he doesn't want to draw attention to it in case it maybe embarrasses you. People are strange. We may never know.

(Irish accents, though. I would kill to be Irish!)

[•.*°•☆. Q .☆•°*.•]

Could be a cultural or familial thing? idk. Good luck honey!

[Vetinari]

In the UK, it just isn't standard to say "Bless You". Some do, but I'd say the majority don't, and I honestly think it has nothing to do with religion and it's probably the same in Eira. If you want him to say it, don't just hint, tell him you like it and that you'd love to hear him say it. I bet he'd do it in an instant.

[sneezychick]

I had a boyfriend who didn't bless me, but always said thank you when I blessed him. One night I sneezed, waited about 5 seconds, then playfully said, "You're supposed to say bless you." He then kissed me on the head and said "bless you." It was the one and only time, but I still enjoyed hearing it come out of his mouth.