Sparrows and Camellia in Snow

"In ancient times the camellia, with its
evergreen leaves and beautiful, sturdy
flowers, was viewed as sacred in Japan.
The grouping of sparrows, snow and
camellias was a common theme in art,
representing the end of winter.
It was considered lucky to see the ‘first
sparrow’ at New Year and this is one of
the seasonal phrases used in Japanese
poetry such as haiku, short verses made
up of about seventeen syllables."