New Year's visit to a temple

　　At the instant when the year turns new my family stays home together and exchanges new year's greetings and then goes to bed. Though it has been an untold rule, I was invited to the New Year's midnight visit to a temple and a party after the visit. My wife didn't want to visit a temple at midnight, so I joined them alone. It comes naturally to even ordinary Japanese people to visit a shrine or temple at the beginning of the new year. However, I've never visited them at midnight.
　　I couldn't even anticipate what's going to happen in a temple at midnight. The temple which we visited was Yasakaji Temple, the 47th temple of Shikoku 88 Pilgrimage. At about 23:30 hours the Buddhist priests started to blow conch shells. I'm not sure, but it must have a certain religious importance. Then the visitors started to toll the bell, which should be originally tolled 107 times within a passing year and one more in a new year, but the priests seemed to allow all the visitors to toll the bell. I also tolled the bell once and prayed for the happiness of people all over the world in the main building of the temple.
　　After the New Year's visit, we had a party. One of us was a professional pianist, who played for us, "When You Wish Upon a Star", and the host was a stickler for serving high quality wines to guests. He was also a good cook. We enjoyed chatting, nice live piano music, nice dishes and wines. The picture shows a Louis Roederer crystal champagne 2006, which was served first.

(Vocabulary)
除夜の鐘を英辞郎で調べると
the bells on New Year's Eve
とあったが、これだけでは伝わらないだろうなあ
conch shell　ホラ貝
ホラ貝を吹くって、、、blow or play?