Kicking the bucket
From Mr Terence Freely Sir: I found very interesting the comments of Dot Wordsworth (Mind your language, 19 October) on the expression kick the bucket in English literature. As to its origins, I suspect they are much simpler. In mediaeval Catholic England it was the custom to place a bucket of holy water at the feet of the deceased in church.
This custom is still current here in Portugal. A small silver bucket is placed at the feet of the dead person. The mourners, in the vigil before the funeral, pay their last respects and sprinkle the corpse with holy water, using a small olive branch.
Terence Freely Braga, Portugal If you would like to email letters for publication, please send them to ktters@spectator.co.uk, including your postal address and telephone number.
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