The people of Chandigarh are secular beings. They celebrate all festivals ansd rituals. All religious days are celebrated and all people enjoy irespective of caste or religion. There are 46 temples, 21 Gurudwaras, 4 churches and 4 mosques. There are people of different religions living here. They are Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Sikhs, Janis, Buddhists and others. Out of which, Hindus and Sikhs form the majority population. All people live here in harmony and happiness. Throughout the year, the people celebrate many Festivals, Exhibitions, Carnivals and Fashion Shows.
The different festivals celebrated here are as follows:
The Cactus Show: This is celebrated at the Cactus Garden in Panchkula in the month of March.
April Fools Day: On this day (April 1) poets from all over the country gather at Chandigarh to recite verses. No other city enjoys such a function.
The festival of Gardens: This festival is also known as Rose Festival. It is celebrated in the end of February or beginning of March.
Baisakhi: This festival is celebrated on the first day of the New Year. It celebrates the wheat harvest. The Sikhs celebrate this festival, as it is the anniversary of the founding of Khalsa. As Chandigarh is the capital of two agrarian states, Punjab and Haryana. The festivals are organized by both the state governments as well as the Administration of the Union Territories.
The Mango Festival: This is celebrated in the month of June at Pinjore Gardens. Mango-growers from all over India are invited to enter their prize fruits in the various competitions Mango growers from all over India and related industries which processes Jams, Pickels & other related stuff get together at one place giving a chance to public to taste their products. Visitors to the fair can see and taste all the traditional varieties of the fruit as well as the latest hybrids from the agricultural universities.
The Teez Festival: This is the festival of females. It is celebrated in August at the Rock Garden. During this festival every female dress up in full jewelry like brides.
The Chrysanthemum Show: This is celebrated on December at the Terrace Garden of Sector 33. The Show turns the Terraces Flower Garden into a multicolored wall-to-wall carpet of chrysanthemums.
The Plaza Carnival: This is celebrated on every Saturday night. It is held on an open-air stage set up in the central piazza. Large crowds attend the weekly three-hour program.
The Chandigarh Carnival: This is a three-day event celebrated in the second week of November.
Chandigarh is a place, which give importance to people having creativity. Chandigarh is home to several noted sculptors, potters, graphic designers and photographers. The winner of 1991 all India Triennial was artist, Prem Singh. Besides the modern art, there are artists who give importance to folk art tradition as Aditya Prakash, Roop Chand, Balvinder Singh, Dev, H.S.Kular,Malkit Singh and H.S.Purewal. Amrita Shergill became the pioneer painter to depict the country`s nationality and artistic tradition. Some of the prominent artists of Chandigarh are Kuldip Dhiman and Shiv Singh.
