What Is Hanyi Festival?
Why many Chinese families remember their ancestors on the first day of the tenth lunar month — and how to mark it in 2026, wherever you live.
As the weather turns cold, many Chinese families pause to remember those who came before them.
Hanyi Festival — 寒衣節, the “Winter Clothing Festival” — falls on the first day of the tenth lunar month. Many families simply call it 十月初一: the day to remember ancestors as winter begins.
Hanyi 2026
Monday, Nov 9
The date to remember
Lunar date
十月初一
1st day, 10th month
Last year
Nov 20, 2025
Moves every year
十月一，送寒衣。
“On the first of the tenth month, we send winter clothes.”
“On the first of the tenth month, we send winter clothes.”
The feeling behind it is simple and tender: it is getting cold, and we have not forgotten you.
When Is Hanyi Festival?
Because it follows the lunar calendar, the date moves each year. It fell on November 20 in 2025 and falls on Monday, November 9, 2026.
Hanyi is often named together with Qingming in spring and Zhongyuan in the seventh lunar month as one of the three traditional days for remembering the dead.
Where the Tradition Comes From
The custom grew from the ancient practice of preparing clothes before winter. The Book of Songs says that “in the ninth month, clothes are handed out,” and by the Song dynasty the day had settled on the first of the tenth month.
Records of the Zhou dynasty describe a rite welcoming winter, after which the ruler honoured those who had died for the state and sent winter clothes to their families.
七月流火，九月授衣。
“In the seventh month the Fire Star sinks west; in the ninth, winter clothes are handed out.” — Book of Songs
Meng Jiangnu and the Winter Clothes
A well-known legend gives the day its emotional weight. Meng Jiangnu travelled a great distance to bring winter clothes to her husband, a labourer on the Great Wall, only to learn that he had died.
Her grief is said to have brought down a section of the wall, and she buried him in the clothes she had carried — on the first day of the tenth month, as the story is told.
Its feeling is familiar to anyone who has missed someone: the wish to keep them warm, even after they are gone.
How Families Mark Hanyi
- Tending graves and remembering ancestors, with incense, candles and simple food.
- “Sending winter clothes” — burning clothing made of five-coloured paper, along with paper money.
- Remembering the forgotten — in some places, five-coloured paper is burned at crossroads for those with no family to remember them.
- Preparing the living for winter — bringing out padded clothes for the family and readying the stove.
- Something warm to eat — dumplings or noodles in many homes; red bean rice in parts of Jiangsu.
Customs differ from region to region and family to family. There is no single right way.
Hanyi Today, and From Far Away
Customs keep changing. Many families now choose quieter, greener ways to remember: a family gathering, flowers instead of paper offerings, or remembering online.
For families living abroad, Hanyi can be small and still meaningful:
- Cook a dish your grandparents loved.
- Tell your children one of their stories.
- Write down their names — in Chinese and in English.
- Call the relatives who still visit the family grave.
- Light a candle and sit quietly for a few minutes.
天冷了，我們還記得你。
“It’s getting cold — we still remember you.”
06 · When You Can’t Be There
Light a Lamp in the Ancestral Hall
If you can’t be at the family grave this year, you can light a lamp in Qiyuan’s online Ancestral Hall and write the names of those you remember. One lamp can hold several names.
It glows for the time you choose — on the hall’s lamp wall, anonymously, or privately by link.
1 Day · $1 · 7 Days · $7
Light a 7-day lamp by Nov 3 and it glows through Nov 9
One-time payment · No subscription
A cultural and personal act of remembrance. No religious or spiritual outcome is promised.
Hanyi, Qingming and Zhongyuan
| Day | When | Season | Next date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hanyi 寒衣節 | 1st day of the 10th lunar month | Start of winter | Nov 9, 2026 |
| Qingming 清明 | A solar term in early April | Spring | Apr 5, 2027 |
| Zhongyuan 中元 | 15th day of the 7th lunar month | Late summer | August or early September |
Common Questions
When is Hanyi Festival in 2026?
Monday, November 9, 2026 — the first day of the tenth lunar month. In 2025 it fell on November 20.
Is Hanyi the same as the Ghost Festival?
No. Zhongyuan, often called the Ghost Festival, falls on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month. Hanyi comes on the first day of the tenth month, as winter begins. Families remember the dead on both days, and at Qingming in spring.
Do I have to burn paper clothes?
No. Customs vary, and many families now remember with flowers, a shared meal or a moment online. If you are unsure, ask what your own family usually does.
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As the Cold Arrives, We Remember
Hanyi asks very little: a pause, a name, a little warmth passed from the living to those who came before.
At the family grave, at a kitchen table far from home, or in front of a lamp lit online, the gesture is the same.
Remember them, wherever you are.
Sources
Qiyuan Memorial provides cultural and personal remembrance experiences.
Digital remembrance lamps do not claim or guarantee religious,
spiritual or supernatural outcomes.
Tributes & Blessings
Every flower, lamp, incense, and blessing below is a symbolic digital remembrance action.
These are symbolic digital remembrance actions inspired by East Asian traditions. Cultural remembrance only — no spiritual efficacy is claimed.
0 Tributes