Ah-lhu - a donation ceremony

When you visit Myanmar, you will encounter ah-lhu one day or another. What is ah-lhu? It is in deed a religious donation ceremony. People usually do ah-lhu when they donate food and offerings to the monk or the monastry. It can be a sole even. Or it can be in celebration for the wedding, anniversary, or to mark the day a family member died. People usually do ah-lhu at home or at the monastery.

Usually, on the day of ah-lhu, monks are invited to the home. They are then offered food and offerings, after which monks recite Buddha's scriptures and give sermon. After the monks go back to the monastery, meal is served to the invited gusts. This is usually a Burmese formal lunch, although sometimes, it can be monhingha, a popular Burmese noodle soup.

Ah-lhu is an integral part of Myanmar Buddhist life, and most Myanmar people, if they could afford, will do ah-lhu quite frequently.

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