An American resident Down Under is ‘shocked’ that Aussies don’t show the same courtesy as she does when someone nearby sneezes – and many agree with her.
Ellie Drabik, a 27-year-old from Atlanta, Georgia, has lived in Perth for more than four years and is still baffled when locals refuse to say ‘bless you’ after she sneezes.
Ellie spoke to FEMAIL and explained that not saying blessings when someone sneezes would be considered extremely rude and a big mistake in the United States.
The expat, who has ‘trained’ her Australian fiancé to bless her, cannot overcome the culture shock of sneezing in front of others, but with radio silence.
“I never realized how weird this was until I moved to Australia and I wonder if it’s just me,” she said in a video.
“Growing up, I always, always, always said bless you when someone sneezed, whether I knew them or not.”
Ellie stuck to her southern ways Down Under and continued to bless “strangers” on the streets, but was never able to get any back.
“Like I would sneeze and not be blessed,” she said.
Ellie Drabik, a 27-year-old from Atlanta Georgia, has lived in Perth for more than four years but still gets shocked when Aussies won’t say ‘blessing’ after she sneezes
The expat said that in America it is extremely “rude” not to say the phrase to friends or strangers, and many Australians agreed that the phrase is disappearing among younger generations.
“Is this an American thing or an Ellie thing that I’ve taken on, that I need to be blessed and bless everyone?”
Thousands of people responded to the video and were divided over whether the phrase was still part of the country’s proper etiquette, with many insisting they would always use it.
“I’m Australian and I’ve said it to family, friends or strangers all my life. It’s good manners,” said one.
“I grew up saying… you get a blessing after one or two sneezes and you’re on your own,” another added.
Others argued that it was an old-fashioned mannerism that was “dying out” across the country.
“It’s definitely disappearing,” said one.
“It’s rare to hear it, but it still happens,” another added.
Many Aussies used to think that whether you bless a stranger after he or she sneezes largely depends on which generation you belong to.
‘I’m an honest Aussie and I always say it. I rarely get it back from young people, but always from people my age, it’s generational,” said one.
“Gen X would probably say it,” another added.
“Gen X here and I couldn’t agree more,” said a third.
But one millennial said she uses “blessing” all the time and has also taught her children to do the same.
A few people suspected that the reason the phrase wasn’t as popular in Australia was because many Australians don’t consider themselves religious.
“I don’t need the blessing, I don’t like it at all when people say it to me,” said one woman.
One man felt the phrase had no place in polite conversation.
“What about good manners, it’s just superstition,” he said.
“Manners are subjective anyway,” another added.