Ancient Tradition of Worshipping God of Wine

祭祀酒神儀狄的古老傳統(tǒng)

Yi Di, the god of wine, was an offlcial in charge of wine making in the Xia Dynasty (2070 BC – 1600 BC), a prestigious brewer at the time.

The brewing of yellow rice wine starts at the

beginning of winter, a closely followed rule as well as brewers' gesture of respect towards nature. On the day winter begins, wine and folk customs exclusively found in Shaoxing – such as worshipping god of wine Yi Di and praying for prosperity – are practiced vigorously in China Shaoxing Yellow Rice Wine Museum or Gu Yue Long Shan brewery. Offering sacriflces, welcoming the god of wine, chanting prayers, burning incense, and so on raises the curtain of brewing Shaoxing wine for another year.

酒神儀狄乃夏禹時(shí)代司掌造酒的官員，也是當(dāng)時(shí)有名的釀酒師。

黃酒立冬開釀，一直是嚴(yán)格遵循的規(guī)律，也是釀酒師對(duì)大自然表達(dá)的一種尊重。每到立冬這天，紹興所獨(dú)有的酒俗和民俗——祭祀酒神儀狄、祈求福祉等儀式，都會(huì)在紹興的中國(guó)黃酒博物館或古越龍山釀制車間如火如荼地進(jìn)行。敬獻(xiàn)祭品、恭請(qǐng)酒神、誦讀祭詞、上香祭拜……新一年的紹興酒于此正式開釀了。