农历七月半是道教的中元节或中元普渡，也是佛教的盂兰盆节，在东亚一些国家这是一个重要的传统节日。
在华人传统信仰中，地狱大门在七月初打开，在冥界的所有亡魂可以在阳间逗留一个月。 与清明节（春季）和重阳节（秋季）不同，七月中祭祀活动的对象不仅是已故祖先，也包括无人祭祀的孤魂野鬼。
七月十五，道教和佛教徒都会举行祭祀仪式，为亡灵超度，化解痛苦。 各种祭祀活动包括准备食物供品、烧香、焚烧冥钱和纸扎祭品等等。七月的本质是对亡者的崇敬，也是华人传统孝道的延伸。
The Zhong Yuan Festival in Taoism or Yu Lan Pen Festival in Buddhism, often called the "Hungry Ghost Festival", is a traditional event in certain East Asian countries. According to the Chinese lunar calendar, the Hungry Ghost Festival is on the 15th of the seventh month.
In Chinese culture, the Seventh Month is regarded as the time when spirits, including those of deceased ancestors, leave the lower realm (hell) to spend a month in the human realm. Distinct from both the Qing Ming Festival (or Tomb Sweeping Day in spring) and Double Ninth Festival (in autumn) in which living descendants pay homage to their deceased ancestors, during the Seventh Month, worship activities are targetted at both the ancestors and wandering spirits.
On the fifteenth day of the Seventh Month, both Taoists and Buddhists would perform rituals to transmute and absolve the sufferings of the deceased. Intrinsic to the Seventh Month is the veneration of the dead, including both one's ancestors and wandering spirits. Activities during the month would include preparing ritualistic food offerings, offering incense, burning joss paper, and burning a papier-mâché forms of material items such as clothes, gold and other fine goods for the visiting spirits of the ancestors.
