ECARD – Page 29 – This blog is about free ecards and holidays

How will you celebrate Diwali?

Deewali or Deepavali, the most popular festival of India falls on Monday, Oct 27, 2008. How will you celebrate?

There are different beliefs, rituals, mythological tales and legends associated with Deepavali, the festival of lights. Even the name has variations ranging from Diwali, to Deevali. In Hindi, its expansion ‘Deepon ki Aavali’ means row of lights, which are used to represent this festival. Some believe that this is the day Lord Krishna destroyed Narakasur, the demon. Others believe that this is the day Lord Ram vanquished the demon king Ravan. No matter what the belief, this festival celebrates the victory of good over evil. It is one of the festivals that is celebrated in almost every state and region of India. To some, it represents the birth of a new year. Rituals like playing cards all night are believed to bring in prosperity. For others, it is an auspicious day to buy gold or a new house or appliances.

Deepavali is celebrated in different ways. People meet friends and relatives, exchange sweets and goodies, wear new clothes, worship in temples, decorate the house and porch with lamps and rangoli. Blockbuster movies hit the theatres. Prime time programs revolve around interviews with film stars and how they celebrate the festival.

Amidst all this fanfare, the true significance of the occasion tends to get lost. Now might be a good time to remind ourselves the real meaning of Deepavali. A lamp or light symbolizes dispelling the darkness of ignorance and evil in each of us. Ravan and Narakasur represent the demons in us. Each of us possesses the noble qualities that Lord Ram and Lord Krishna propagated. Deepavali is a reminder of the eternal flame glowing within us. It is this realization that leads to enlightenment, bliss and everlasting peace.

So by all means, celebrate Deepavali with friends and family. Exchange gifts and deewali ecards. Wear your finest clothes and jewelry. Treat yourself to a feast and fireworks.

But in addition, why not start and end the day spending a few quiet moments looking inwards?

Wish you a very peaceful, safe and happy Diwali!

Birthday in July

When I was growing up, I had a friend in the neighborhood whose birthday was on December 27th—just two days after Christmas. I often told him how unlucky he was, to have a birthday so soon after Christmas: there’s no way he would get enough presents! Me? I was lucky, I thought, because my birthday is in the summer, and so my gift-receiving days were spread pretty evenly apart through the year.

Of course, now that I’m older, I realize it’s not just about maximizing gift-receiving potential, and I’ve often wondered what it would feel like to celebrate a birthday in a snowstorm, rather than at the beach. The important thing, either way, I’ve learned, is to surround yourself with people you love, and who love you. That is what makes a birthday special, and not gifts.

But gifts are nothing to sneeze at, either. At gotfreecards.com we have free e-cards that you can send to your friends and loved ones on their birthdays. You can show them how much you care with our animated e-cards, and save money by not splurging on expensive gifts, too.

Even though I still wonder what a winter birthday would be like, I’m perfectly happy to be able to blow out my birthday candles, and then jump in the pool.

Halloween Ecards – A Romantic Message

While Halloween is a time for treats, costumes, and pumpkin carving, it can also be a time for romance. The treats can be a box of chocolates given as a gift out of love, the costumes can be matching as a way of telling everyone he or she is your “match”, and pumpkins can be carved with a loving message.

Carving jack-o-lanterns on Halloween is a skill; it can take years of practice before you achieve the perfect carving. The moment when you set the finished product outside and light the candle, and the light flickers inside the toothy grin of the pumpkin, you can just feel the excitement and the thrill of Halloween. I once tried to be creative and carve initials into my pumpkin, but it didn’t quite work out and my creative carving just turned into a big hole.

This year, I want to be a bit of a romantic and carve a heart into my pumpkin and find some fireflies to light it up. But alas, I am not that good! So I turn to GotFreeCards.com, find the very romantic Pumpkin Love animated ecard, and send it to my loved one! It conveys the very message I wanted to do with my own pumpkin, without the risk of a carving mishap! And where in the world would I find fireflies to light up my pumpkin? Right here at GotFreeCards.com, that’s where.

Ecards and politics –a healthy mix?

With the presidential elections around the corner, there is no shortage of material for late night comedy shows, humor columns and comic strips. Politics and the candidates have made their way into ecards too. As election day nears, more and more ecards are being created with politics as their theme. Some ecards mock at one or both the candidates, their running mates and their catch phrases. Others have more universal themes revolving around politics. Either way, these ecards serve as stress relievers. Witty lines, cynical comments, spoofs on politicians are all popular concepts. Who doesn’t like to share a hilarious ecard with friends and colleagues? And some of these jokes are in fact quite clever. But, the fact is that politics, as such, is a very serious issue. Especially this election is being slated as one of the most crucial in America’s history. Considering the current economical situation, the next president of the US will have a pivotal role to play in shaping the country’s and the world’s future. So, is it really ok to take things lightly and to make jokes out of the campaigns? Does that diminish the graveness of the situation and mislead people into believing that everything is fine when that’s far from reality? Do these jokes and wisecracks cause today’s youngsters to take an important responsibility lightly?

Or do we need these lighter moments to take our minds off the bad news all around?

What’s your take?

Snazzy Animated Halloween Ecard!

It’s dark and eerie; there are sounds coming from every corner. And then, a shriek! A ghost jumps out and visitors to the Haunted House scream while others laugh out of sheer excitement. Don’t we just love the Halloween season? It is filled with excitement and pumpkins and costumes and haunted houses!

There are many things we love to do on Halloween, but none of it is any fun when done alone. Instead of calling your pals to invite them to join you for the celebrations, do it via email with a snazzy animated Halloween ecard! Pick some Halloween ecards to send, and include a message inviting one person or all of your friends to come out with you! You can write your own personal message like “I picked you for a boyfriend, now help me pick a pumpkin!” or “I’d like to take you out on Friday the 31st, will you go trick or treating with me?” or even “If this card didn’t spook you enough, come along with me to a haunted house!” At GotFreeCards.com, there is a marvelous selection of Halloween ecards, all animated and FREE to send to as many people as you want to. All you have to do is pick the card, write the message, send it off via the internet, and you’ll be sure to have the spookiest Halloween yet!

Your Worst Halloween Nightmare

When I was little, my siblings and I would get so excited for Halloween and all of the things leading up to it. Carving our pumpkins, helping our mom make our costumes, and getting dressed up for the parade at the school carnival were among the things that we were the most excited about. And of course, who could forget the evening’s trick-or-treating and all of the forbidden candy we would soon have!

After a healthy dinner (to counter the sugar in our future), we’d venture out with the other neighborhood kids in search for candy to fill our trick-or-treat bags. We knew all of our neighbors and we knew who gave out the best candy and who gave out the scary stuff: pennies, raisins, and strange plastic toys. But we never encountered the scariest “treat” of all, though we were told that they were out there, being given out to unsuspecting kids. Toothbrushes, the scariest “treat” on Halloween night, was something we hoped never to encounter. I am sure there are other “kids” out there who have similar Halloween memories and fears, which is why I love the “Haunted House” ecard here at GotFreeCards.com. I’ve sent it to my siblings for some good old reminiscing, and I am sure you have friends and family with the same memories! So send them this card, remind them of the true horrors of Halloween – toothbrushes!

Halloween Candies or Ecards!

October is sure to be a month of purchases: Halloween candy, costumes, spooky decorations, pumpkins, and admission tickets to the neighborhood haunted house. But money need not be spent on Halloween cards, especially cards at typical stores that have no animation and that still require postage! GotFreeCards.com is the one stop shop for all your card sending needs, Halloween included. There are spooky ecards, wishful ecards, and comical ones like the Competitive Witches ecard, all FREE and all animated. No postage needed as they are sent via the internet to the recipients email inbox, fast and free.

Now is the time to send Halloween ecards, it is early enough in the month that there are still those who haven’t given a thought to Halloween yet. Now is the time to remind them that Halloween is here by sending them your favorite Halloween ecard from GotFreeCards.com. Do you want to scare them silly, make them laugh, or make them ponder their Halloween costume? You can do all these things and more simply by sending them an animated ecard.

So put your money away and browse GotFreeCards.com to check out the awesome Halloween ecard selection; pick as many as you want, write some spooky and funny messages, and email them off! Make sure everyone you know has a faBOOlous Halloween.

Words or visuals – what do you look for in an ecard?

What is it in an ecard that makes you choose it, over hundreds, maybe thousands of others?

Just on the home page of any ecard site, like this one, and you will see at least ten different ecards for various categories and occasions. Each occasion has at least a dozen choices. Popular categories like birthday, anniversary and Christmas carry even more. With so many free ecards to choose from, how do you pick the one card that you want to send?

The two main components of an ecard are visuals and words. People choose an ecard for one or both of these reasons. The accompanying sound or music complements both.

Sometimes, an animated ecard is just too attractive to pass up. Especially if it is really funny, interactive or has beautiful visuals. At other times, it’s the words and the message it conveys. Some people choose a card for its witty lines or the original poem it carries. If an ecard is really well thought out and professionally created, it scores on both accounts. That’s when you get the ‘Aha’ feeling of having found the perfect card that says exactly what you want to. But that may not happen all the time and you might have to settle one way or another.

So, tell us. What is your way of choosing an ecard? Do you look for a card that has the right words? Or do vivid visuals grab your attention? What kind of cards do you like to receive? Ones which draw a picture with words? Or one that communicates volumes with a picture?

What would be the components of your perfect ecard for any occasion?

Sending happiness via ecards is easy!

Times are tough; the economy is questionable and people are searching for lighthearted moments to get them through these down times. Thankfully we have holidays and seasons to add colorful variety to the day to day doldrums. Now is the best time of year; fall brings Halloween and Thanksgiving which leads to Christmas and the New Year in the winter with the potential for blessings and bounty. We need to embrace these opportunities for fun and celebration and spread the festive joy! So start the fall season off with some spooky and silly Halloween ecards, emailed right to all of your favorite people. They are FREE and professionally animated, so they are good for your wallet and pleasurable for the viewing eye!

Everyone is looking for a reason to smile, and something to look forward to. Remind your friends and family that Halloween is just around the corner by sending them a free ecard from GotFreeCards.com. They’ll be able to watch it over and over and will want to pass the celebration on to others by sending their own ecards. So get going and get sending; get your world in a good mood with the free animated Halloween ecards at GotFreeCards.com. Times are tough; sending happiness via ecards is easy!

Send Durga Puja Ecards Today!

It’s October again it must be time for Durga Puja. It’s that time of the year again when we all take a break from the daily rigors and enjoy the fun and festivities. We dance to the drums, visit the best pandals (elaborate and beautiful tents) in our best attire and thank “Ma Durga” for our good fortune .

But it is also a time to let your closed ones know you really care for them by sending them an ecard. So don’t procrastinate and send a Durga puja ecard today! All our cards are animated and thus capture the essence of the “dhak” (drums) and the “dhunuchi” (ceramic vessel). While you are at it send them Halloween eCards too.

Editors Note: Durga Puja is the most important festival in West Bengal, India. Like most other mythological tales it celebrates the victory of good over evil. It is generally celebrated over 5 days in October and most of Eastern India comes to a standstill during the celebration.