Chennai is characterized by the celebration of a lot of festivals mainly religious in flavor. The famous festivals celebrated by the people here are like Deepavali, Dusshera, Durga Puja, Navratri and Pongal. The whole city comes alive during these celebrations. There are several cultural programs organized in lieu of these which give out a distinct festive feel. A lot of industries thrive on these festivals like the flower industry.

As the majority of the populations are Hindus, the main festivals pertain to the Hindu religion. There is however a considerable number of Christians and universal festivals like Christmas are also celebrated with a lot of pomp. There are a lot of festivals that are locally celebrated like Arubathimoovar festival, Chitirai festival, Dance festival is hosted at Mammalapuram. Kanthri festival, Kavadi festival, Tayagaraja festival and Velankanni Festival.