农历头日、十月朝、祭祖节、烧衣节、授衣节等，与清明节、中元节并称中国三大鬼节。这一天，人们会通过各种方式祭奠先人，表达哀思。还有一种不可缺少的供物——冥衣。寒衣节的来历中英双语对照。
寒衣节；孟姜女千里送寒衣：
Winter clothing festival
Meng Jiangnu send thousands of miles winter coat: In ancient times there was a Mr. Meng home is a gourd vine growth, growth to the next node a big calabash gourd, two people consultation(协商) will be equally, however, there is a girl in hyacinth, both named Meng Jiangnu, when Meng Jiangnu was 16 years old when he met Fan Xiliang in two married, but the marriage is, Fan Xiliang was caught to build the Great Wall of soldiers, to death in the winter, Meng Jiangnu thinks her husband, went for a thousand miles husband send clothes, but he was dead, she burst into tears, sea waves will destroy the exposed section of the Great Wall, a skeleton, Meng Jiangnu wept for seven days and nights of winter clothing, will burn, covered the bones.
古代有一位孟先生家中生长有一串葫芦，藤蔓生长到隔壁结了一个大葫芦，两户人协商将葫芦平分，然而，有一个女孩在葫芦里面，两家取名为孟姜女，当孟姜女16岁时遇到范喜良两人结为夫妻，但是在结婚之时，范喜良被兵抓去修建长城，活活累死，孟姜女在冬天思恋丈夫，便去为千里之外的丈夫送衣服，不料丈夫已经死去，她放声大哭，大海上的波涛将一段长城摧毁，露出一具具骸骨，孟姜女哭了七天七夜，将寒衣烧掉，覆盖到了白骨之上。