An old bell

This small, 4½ inches wide, and 3½ inches high brass bell, hung above the wide door opening between the dining room and the large room at home. No one ever mentioned it or told where it had come from, but on new year's eve at 12 o'clock my father tapped with the clapper/pendulum twelve times to announce the arrival of the new year.
Our small family hugged and we wished each other a good new year...

I wish I knew more of where this bell came from, and what the text says.