offering ceremony held on the third day of the dog after the winter solstice; twelfth month of the lunisolar calendar; year in the Buddhist order (after the completion of the first meditation retreat)
last December; end of last year
twelfth lunar month; 12th month of the lunar calendar
wintersweet (Chimonanthus praecox); Japanese allspice
Chinese smoked and salted ham
long time; long years of service
European tortoise; Greek tortoise (Testudo graeca)