Types Of Modern Day Diwali Greeting Cards

The Diwali celebrations would be incomplete if you didn’t wish your near and dear ones the best of tidings. For those living far away from their friends and families, calls, SMS’s and Diwali greeting cards is the best way to connect.  Special Diwali greeting cards are the best way to show that you care and are thinking of them during this joyous festival.

From a time thousands of years ago when messages where carried for months across kingdoms to convey Diwali wishes, the way of conveying Diwali greetings has evolved. Today we are fortunate to have beautiful and ornate Diwali greeting cards that say more than just the words and can be sent and received in days and sometimes seconds.

Paper greeting cards have been very popular for many years and their charm will never go away. However as the times have changed, Diwali greeting cards have also evolved with the digital age.

Moreover, with the green revolution the world is slowly moving away from paper cards to the electronic way of saying “Happy Diwali”.

E- cards: These are the same as paper cards in conveying the message without the uncertainty of the post being lost. Beautiful Diwali messages and cards decorated with lights and other decorations are available at various greeting card site. The only thing you need to do to send these cards is to log in to the site, enter the recipient’s email id and select the date to send and it’s done.

Animated cards: If you have seen musical paper greeting cards in the market then you will love the animated greeting cards available online. Diwali card designs include animated cards, prayer verses, fireworks etc. Even cartoon animation designs are available online which you can select easily. Some websites even let you record messages in your own voice over the animations, which makes the Diwali greetings even more special.

Diwali greeting cards with gifts: Diwali greetings cards can also be ordered with gifts online. Popular gifts for Diwali greetings include dry fruit packs, sweet packs, toys, decorative gift items that can be delivered to the recipient’s doorstep. You can even send fresh flowers online as a part of Diwali wishes.

Modern day Diwali greeting cards are becoming popular every year and more and more people are opting for the digital option for sending Diwali greetings to their loved ones.

Diwali Wishes: Decorative Gift Ideas

Modern day Diwali celebrations are a blend of contemporary lifestyle and traditional rituals. As the Diwali holidays approach everyone gets busy decorating their homes, offices, shops and workplaces. A big clean-up effort takes place and every corner of the city is lit with lights and the sound of firecrackers resonates in the air. Diwali wishes are exchanged with near and dear ones.

It has been a long-standing tradition to exchange gifts and sweets on Diwali. There are an unlimited number of Diwali gift ideas available in the market, which makes choosing the perfect gift easier. Decorative gifts are very popular during this festive season and you can chose from trendy or traditional or a mix of both. Here are some popular decorative Diwali gift ideas:

Torans or wall hangings:

Torans are generally handmade and are embellished with beautiful stones, glasses, images, beads and colourful thread embroidery. They are used at the main door and at the entrance of rooms. Both long and short torans are available in a variety of colors such as red, yellow, green, blue and golden.

Decorative lamps:

Made from paper, clay, brass, glass, wood, fiber and even silicone, decorative lamps light up the room in a festive theme instantly. Beautiful colors, and patterns add a completely new look to your house. They make the perfect accompaniment to Diwali decorations and make for long lasting gifts.

Exclusive candles

Candles are much more than something you use when there is no electricity. Aromatic candles create a calm and soothing atmosphere in the room and relax your mind. With so many designs and sizes available, they make a perfect gift for your loved ones.

Diyas

The significance of diyas on Diwali dates back to 2700BC. These days diyas are more ornate and are used for decorative purposes rather than illuminations. Beautiful diyas decorated with paints, glasses, sequins, beads etc. have become an integral part of Diwali celebrations. They are used to decorate the homes and the workplace.

Conveying Diwali wishes with some of these decorative gift items is an easy way to lift somebody’s festive spirit.

Diwali Sweets As A Part Of Diwali Greetings

Yummy Diwali sweets are exchanged on the festival of Diwali as a part of Diwali greetings. The very idea of exchanging Diwali sweets means that you are sending all your love and best wishes with the sweet box and hope that the receivers coming year will be as sweet as the sweetness of sweets!

Diwali lanterns, diyas, bulbs, lamps, firecrackers, decorations all form part of this five day festival.  The preparations began over a month before the actual day. People fill the shopping malls looking for clothes and decorative items for Diwali.

The aroma of various Diwali sweets adds to the festivities and both adults and children look forward to feasting on the delicious snacks and sweets on Diwali night. The sweets taste best when prepared at home in pure desi ghee (clarified butter without any preservatives). You can however easily purchase them from the nearest sweet shop too.

The popular sweets that are prepared on Diwali include Gulabjamuns, ghujiyas, laddoos, rasgullas, burfi, jalebi etc.  It is not difficult to prepare these sweets at home and if you have some time then you must try the flowing recipe for Rasgulla:

Ingredients

• 1 liter of cow’s milk
• 1 tablespoon lime juice or vinegar
• 1 pinch baking powder
• 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder
• 300 grams of sugar
• 1 liter water
• 3-4 drops of rose essence or cardamom powder

To prepare

• Boil the milk in a pan.
• Remove from heat and add lime juice or vinegar.
• Stir slowly and you will see that the milk will start to curdle.
• When you see that it is completely separated from whey stop stirring.
• Strain the milk through a muslin cloth. The residue left in the cloth is known as ‘chenna’.
• Wash the chenna under cold water to remove the citric taste of lime juice. Extract all water by gently pressing the cloth.
• Take the chenna in a plate, add baking powder, arrowroot powder, and mash until you get a shiny, smooth dough.
• Make small round balls of the chenna dough and set aside.
• Boil the sugar in water and add the balls to it.
• Let is simmer for 15 minutes on low heat. The ball will puff and become large in size.
• Remove from heat, add rose essence and cool in the fridge.
• Serve chilled.

  The way to a person’s heart is through their stomach and there is no better way to convey your Diwali greetings than doing it with sweets.

Sweets To Prepare For Diwali 2011

Sweets served during the days of Diwali have a special meaning. Serving sweets to guests at home this Diwali is a symbol of joy and prosperity to the receiver. As Diwali is just a few days away, your Diwali calendar would now be full with things to do. There’s the shopping, cleaning, decorating, inviting and organising. Plus the preparation of delicious dishes to serve to guests when they arrive. Here are two simple and easy to prepare recipes to help you lighten the load this Diwali 2011;

1. ABC Halwa (Apple, banana, carrot Halwa)

Ingredients:

• One cup Grated apple (without the skin)
• One cup grated carrot
• One cup mashed bananas
• One cup Milk
• Two cups of sugar
• 1 teaspoon cardamom powder
• Grated dry fruits mix
• Three tablespoon pure ghee

To prepare:

• Boil the milk and add the grated carrots to the milk.
• Cook on a low heat till the carrots are soft and cooked.
• Add grated apple and the mashed banana and simmer till the mixture thickens.
• Add sugar and cardamom powder then mix well.
• In a separate pan heat the ghee and add the mix to it.
• Keep on stirring to prevent the mix from sticking to the bottom.
• Cook till the ghee separates from the mix.
• Remove from heat and cool
• Garnish with dry fruits.
• Serve hot

2. China grass (Agar0agar) burfi (fudge)

If you don’t have much time and need a quick sweet for this Diwali then this is the one you should try;

Ingredients:

• ½ liter of milk
• 8 grams of china grass strands
• Sugar 250 grams
• One cup of warm water
• Grated dry fruits for garnish
• Edible silver leaf for decoration

To prepare:

• Cut the china grass strands into small pieces. Soak the strands in warm water for few minutes till they are soft.
• In the meantime boil the milk
• Drain the water out of the china grass strands and add to the boiling milk
• Lower the heat and simmer the milk till the pieces are full dissolved
• Add the sugar and stir to dissolve and prevent the mixture from setting or sticking to the bottom.
• Grease a flat pan and pour the mix into the pan add the dry fruits (you can also add the dry fruits when boiling the milk).
• Let is set and cut into the desired shapes and your Burfis are ready to serve.
• Decorate with edible silver leaf

Surprise your family and friends this Diwali 2011 by cutting the Burfi in interesting shapes and adding smiley faces with dry fruits. You can even add a little food coloring to the milk to get more exotic results.

This Diwali Enjoy The Magic Of Diwali Greeting Cards

The best way to convey your Diwali wishes is with a big hug and a heartfelt ‘Happy Diwali’ wish. It is customary to exchange sweets on Diwali as a part of the well wishes with your near and dear ones. But what about your loved ones who are unable to physically join you in Diwali celebrations? The best way to convey your wishes then will be in the form of Diwali greeting cards.

The magic of Diwali will double when they see your greeting cards and they will thank you from the bottom of their hearts. These cards convey more than just the Diwali wishes; they let the receiver know that you are thinking of them during this festival of lights. Furthermore that you wish them lots of joy, happiness and success in every venture that they undertake.

There are a plethora of Diwali card designs available in the market. These range from simple and elegant designs with beautiful messages to rich and ornate ones studded with gold leaves, precious and semi-precious stones.  You can buy specific cards for mother in laws, brothers, sisters, friends and even nieces and nephews.

Diwali greeting cards with funny messages are also available in the market for those who want to tickle the funny bone during this festive season. The most popular designs on Diwali cards include fireworks, diyas, Rangoli motifs and Diwali sweets. Lamps cut out in interesting shapes of lamps and even sweet boxes.

The least costly and totally paperless way (going green) of sending Diwali wishes is by way of E-greeting cards. There are a number of sites available on the net that provide this service for free. Your card can go from one country to another in a milli-second. E greeting cards with music and bursting firecrackers are especially popular during Diwali.

Do it yourself Diwali greeting cards: If you have some time on your hands during the Diwali holidays then why not make the cards yourself. Your own personal touch to the cards will make them very special. You can paint the card in bright colours (Diwali is all about colours) with lots of diyas and firecrackers. If you are not particularly handy at painting or drawing yourself then you can simply cut and paste some pictures of lights or rangoli patterns and decorate the card with gold, silver laces and sequins. Add some cotton under the pictures before sticking and it will transform the card into a three dimensional card.

Ways To Express Diwali Greetings

“Happy Diwali” is the most common Diwali greeting which you will hear during this five-day festival. Diwali greetings are exchanged to wish each other happiness and prosperity for the coming year. These wishes come from the heart and the person on the receiving end understands that you wish the best for them.

The significance of Diwali in cultures from all over the world cannot be underestimated. This is a festival which helps us understand and realize that good times are just around the corner and therefore we should celebrate with faith in our hearts and peace in our minds.

There is less than a month left for Diwali and now is the time to get your preparations in full swing. Lots of things are involved in the preparation for Diwali such as giving your house a good clean, buying Diwali lanterns and candles, preparing the sweets and buying new clothes.

This year why don’t you put a twist on the traditional Diwali greetings by adding some handmade items as a part of the wishes exchanged:

Diwali Lanterns: Lights have a very special place in Diwali celebrations. You can wish ‘Happy Diwali’ with exciting Diwali lights. These can be in the form of attractive diyas, lamps or handmade lanterns. It is not difficult to make beautiful lanterns at home. All you need is some thick colored paper and some wire to create the base. You can twist them in any shape and they are ready to be gifted.

Sweets: Another sweet way to express Diwali wishes is to do so with sweets. You can prepare delicious laddus, barfis, Gulabjamuns etc. easily at home and gift them for Diwali to your friends and family. If you don’t have the time to prepare the sweets you can even order them from the sweet shop and arrange for them to be delivered on Diwali. Your friends and family will be pleasantly surprised to see them.  Homemade chocolates or chocolate gift boxes will make excellent gifts for children.

Significance Of Diwali Greetings

Everyone looks forward to the festival of Diwali 2011 with great joy and anticipation. Diwali greetings are just not about the firecrackers and lighting. It is the time to hope and pray for peace and prosperity for yourself and the rest of the world. The right way to start the festivities is to begin with the Diwali preparations.

As the festival approaches, it is time to get the dusting cloth and your trustworthy mop out of the closet for a thorough cleaning. Once you are done with the cleaning and the much-needed repairs as well as the small renovations to your home the next phase is the Diwali decorations. The decorations are what bring a festive look to your house.

Festive lights: Decorative, ornamental and exotic Diwali Lanterns (diyas - small clay pots filled with oil or wax), candles, paper lamps, electric bulbs all form the part of the festive lights which are used to decorate the house (both inside and out).

You can also use hanging lights or replace your regular lampshades with paper lamps to give a colorful hue to the house. These lights can also be used to focus on other decorations. Different colours of electric bulbs on the boundary of your roof are the perfect choice for outside decorations.

Torans: Torans are door garlands, which are especially popular in South India. They are made from marigold flowers and mango leaves.  However, since the fresh flowers need replacement quite often, artificial ones are also available in the market that you can also use.

The sweet scent of flowers brings a fresh look to Diwali decorations. Roses, marigold, jasmine are the most popular flowers that are used in Diwali decorations. You can use any of your favorite flowers. They can be used in the form of garlands, attractive arrangements or even loose. Water based petal arrangements are a big hit during Diwali. They will fill your house with freshness.

Laying out a Rangoli at your doorstep is another consideration. A Rangoli is a color motif, which is generally in a square shape and is made by connecting dots in various patters and filling it with powdered colours, coloured grains or flowers.

Diwali Gift Ideas - Where To Shop

The weather is changing and so is the mood. It's time to make a list of Diwali gift ideas. The nine day (Navratris) are on their way and the whole atmosphere now has a festive feel about it. Diwali wishes abound and the streets are litered with bright lights decorating the temples and houses. There's also the tantalising smell of delicious Diwali sweets in the air. Plus there’s no ignoring the waves of children jumping with joy in anticipation of the Diwali 2011 holidays and treats.

After Navratris come Dusherra and Diwali. Diwali is traditionally a five day festival and is celebrated all over the world. The sweets, new clothes, jewelry, gifts etc. all find their special place during the Diwali celebrations. Of course, you need to make your shopping list well before the festival arrives and shop in advance so that you’re best prepared to celebrate in style.

Your Diwali shopping list should include the decorations such as the diyas, candles, electric decorative bulbs, lanterns, gifts for family and friends, sweets etc. You can shop for Diwali items in various Indian stores. Some items however are only in-stock around the days of Diwali such as firecrackers.

Traditional Indian garments such as saris, salwar suits, and lehnga choils are the most popular garments on sale in the festive season. Various designs can be seen flooding the market around this time. Shop at store's selling Indian garments to see the full selection and choose your favorite dress for the festival. Make sure that you shop in advance so that you have enough time for fittings and alterations to be done to make them fit perfectly.

If you are planning to give personalized gifts to your friends or co-workers this Diwali then you must pre-order them at least a month before Diwali to get them packed and delivered in time. Popular gift items include beautiful lanterns, candles, sweets, household items etc. Remember it is the thought that counts behind the gifts so make sure that you put a lot of love in the gifts you pick.

Sweets taste best when prepared at home but if you don’t have the time to prepare them in advance then you can get them from the sweet shops. Many shops cater for gift baskets, which consist of pre packed sweets, and savory snacks that you can buy over the counter. You can also pre order the packages and hence decide the types of sweets that will be packed.

You can easily shop for the Diwali items and gifts at any major stores and these days…even online at your convenience.

Tasty Treats For Diwali Wishes

Diwali 2011 is just around the corner and it is time for the sweets, snacks, lights and crackers again. While you may be busy preparing the sweets for Diwali, you mustn't ignore the savoury part of the festival. It's always nice to have some tasty treats on hand to serve the guests who arrive with Diwali wishes. Here are some simple recipes for two Diwali snacks.

They can be prepared in advance and stored to serve on the days of Diwali.

1.     Chakli

Ingredients

• 4 cups rice
• 2 cups of Bengal gram (chana dal)
• 1 cup black gram
• ½ cup of coriander seeds
• ¼ cup cumin seeds
• ¼ cup white sesame seeds
• 1 teaspoon ajwain (carom seeds)
• Red chili powder (according to taste)
• Salt (to taste)
• ½ teaspoon of haldi (turmeric powder)
• Pinch of asafetida
• ½ cup of ghee (clarified butter)

To prepare:

• Roast rice, Bengal gram, and black gram separately on low heat until crisp. Do not use any oil for roasting.
• Roast coriander seeds, cumin seeds, carom seeds, sesame seeds.
• Grind all the ingredients into a fine powder. Add salt, chili powder, asafetida to the powder
• Heat the ghee in a pan.
• Pour the hot ghee into the powder
• Add some boiling water and knead into a soft dough.
• Put the dough into a chakli mold (available at Indian grocery stores).
• Press the molds to make spiral chaklis.
• Deep fry the chaklis in oil at low heat until crisp.
• Cool and store in an airtight container

Note:

• If you do not have chakli molds then you can also use your icing gun to make the shapes.
• You can use ghee to fry the chaklis
• These can be stored for up to a month.

2.     Mathri

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cup of maida (all-purpose flour)
• ¾ cup wheat flour
• ½ cup dahi (yoghurt)
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoon ajwain (carom seeds)
• Salt to taste
• Oil for frying

To prepare:

• Combine all-purpose flour, wheat flour, yoghurt, oil, salt, carom seeds, and knead into firm dough.
• Keep the dough aside for ½ hour.
• Now take small pieces of the dough and roll into thin rolls of 2 inch diameter.
• Prick the mathri with a fork so that it does not fluff up when fried.
• Heat the oil on medium heat and fry the mathris until golden brown in colour and crisp.
• Drain on a paper towel and cool
• Store in an airtight container.

Delicious Variations Of Halva (Halwa) For This Diwali

Sweet savoury desserts are the highlight of the Diwali 2011 festival. The celebrations are not complete if there aren't an assortment of sweets and desserts on the table for your family and friends to enjoy. In this article, we have listed some delicious Diwali recipes for  Halva (halwa in Hindi) that you can easily prepare in no time!

1.     Caramel Halva

The caramel adds a delicious twist to the traditional halva. Here is what you need:

• 1 cup suji (semolina)
• 1 cup plain granulated sugar
• 1 cup of pure ghee (clarified butter)
• 1 teaspoon of cardamom powder
• Dry fruits for garnish
• Water or milk to soak the semolina

Method:

• Soak the semolina in a little water (it will swell to almost double the size).
• Stir the sugar and cardamom powder with ghee in a nonstick pan on a medium flame until it melts and turns golden brown (caramel).
• Reduce the heat and add the soaked semolina. Keep stirring continuously until the oil separates.
• Remove from heat and cool.
• Garnish with strands of saffron, almonds and cashew nuts.
• You can also add raisins to the mixture.
• Sever hot or cold.

2.     Bread halva

This is a special sweet treat for Diwali, which uses bread as one of the main ingredient. Here is what you need for it:

• Eight slices of regular white bread (you can use brown bread as well...however, white bread tastes better).
• 100 grams of khoya (mawa)
• ½ cup of milk
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon of cardamom powder
• 1 cup of ghee (clarified butter)
• Some dry fruits and raisins for garnish

Method:

• Make breadcrumbs by rubbing the bread slices between your palms.(take care to remove the crusts)
• Add crumbed khoya (mawa), and sugar to the breadcrumbs. Mix well
• Add cardamom powder and milk to the mixture and combine well.
• Heat ghee in a nonstick pan on a medium heat.
• Add the prepared mixture to the ghee and cook on a low heat. Stirring continuously to prevent it from sticking to the bottom.
• When the oil starts separating from the mix, remove from the heat.
• Garnish with dry fruits, raisins.
• You can also add some dry dates to it for a twist.
• This tastes best when served hot.

Note:

• In both the recipes, you can replace sugar with sugar free (used for cooking).
• You can also decrease or increase the amount of sugar used depending on taste.
• When the halva is cold, you can use a cookie cutter to cut it into interesting shapes.

Diwali Recipes for Sweets: Kalakand

Kalakand (Hindi) or Qulaqand(Urdu) is a very popular sweet during Diwali in the northern and eastern parts of India. This milk based sweet simply melts in your mouth. Quand is an Arabic word, which means sweets. Here are some very easy and simple to follow Diwali recipes for Kalakand which you can easily prepare at home and surprise your loved ones with thisDiwali 2011.

Express with Cottage Cheese: What you will need

• 1 can condensed milk
• 250 grams fresh paneer (cottage cheese)
• A pinch of saffron
• 1 tablespoon cardamom powder
• 8 nos. Pistachio nuts

To prepare

• Mix all the ingredients in a microwave proof glass bowl.
• Microwave on high for fifteen minutes.
• Every three minutes stop, stir and restart.
• Pour the mix on a greased aluminum tray and let it set for few hours.
• Cut into squares to serve.

Express: What you will need

• Condensed milk -1 can
• Yogurt- 1 tablespoon
• 1 tablespoon cardamom powder
• ½ tablespoon ghee (clarified butter) for greasing.

To prepare

• Mix condensed milk, yogurt and cardamom powder in a microwave proof glass bowl.
• Note that you don’t have to add sugar to the mix as the condensed milk is already sweetened.
• Microwave on high for 9 minutes.
• After every two minutes stop, stir and restart. Stirring is very important otherwise it will not cook evenly.
• Let it stand for 3 minutes.
• Pour the mixture in a greased aluminum tray and let it set on a cool place for a few hours.
• Cut into squares to serve.

 

Garnish

• Garnish with edible silver foil on Kalakand.
• Grate some cashew, pistachios and almonds to use as a garnish.

Variations

• Add some fresh mango pulp to the condensed milk and yogurt pulp and you will have a delicious mango Kalakand ready in minutes.
• Chocolate is a favorite among the kids. Add some chocolate sauce to the mix for chocolaty Kalakand.
• Also, add some cardamom powder for flavor.
• You can also experiment with food colourings to add your own unique look to the Kalakand.
• When the mix is ready divide it into three different portions and add different colours to each portion. Layer the portions on top of one another thus creating an interesting layered Kalakand display.
• You can also add some grated coconut to the mix for coconut Kalakand.

The origins of Kalakand can be traced back to the Braj area of Uttar Pradesh which is known for is excellent quality milk and dairy products. Kalakand tastes best when eaten fresh.