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‘A treat for your eyes’: See photos of Christmas lights on Temple Square

Christmas lights in downtown Salt Lake City will shine daily — from 4:30 to 10 p.m. and from 6 to 8 a.m. — through Jan. 1

Having illuminated Salt Lake City’s Decembers since 1965, the lighted walkways and Christmas-card-worthy photo ops of Temple Square Christmas lights have become something of a family tradition — attracting thousands of visitors.

“It’s like a treat for your eyes and your ears and your heart,” said Lisa Marion from Alpine, Utah. She visited the lights with her husband, Mike Marion, and their five children the first night these lights turned on.

This year’s Christmas lights display began Friday evening, Nov. 29, at 4:30 p.m. MST. They will continue through Jan. 1, 2025, from 6 to 8 a.m. and from 4:30 to 10 p.m.

In addition to lighted trees, guests can find international Nativities, detailed luminaria and star-covered pavilions across the grounds.

Despite ongoing construction on the Salt Lake Temple and around Temple Square in recent years, several areas are available to see — the Church Office Building Plaza, leading to Main Street and the Conference Center, and continuing over to the Tabernacle and plaza directly northwest.

Having the iconic house of the Lord as the focal point of the lighted grounds points Lisa Marion’s focus to family and the Savior, she said. “It gets your head in the right space. You’re at Temple Square, you see the temple, and it reminds you that Christmas is about Jesus Christ and not Black Friday.”

Mike Marion agreed the lights allow visitors to slow down and focus on the Light of the World this Christmas.

“It’s something that you kind of pause and take in,” he said. “It puts you in the frame of: ‘Why am I here? What should I be thinking about instead of the hustle?’ It just focuses you on Christ in that way, like, ‘This is what’s most important.’”

Their young adult son Isaac Marion said: “This whole Christmastime feels like a gift to us. It’s a reminder of Christ’s Atonement and the gift to the world that He is.” The lights on Temple Square are “just a way to be surrounded by that in a more visual sense. It’s hard to ignore that out here.”

Visitors to Temple Square will also find a recently installed statue depicting the First Vision of Joseph Smith, created by artist Michael Hall, next to the Salt Lake Tabernacle. It’s the first in a series of 14 statues created by local artists — the rest to be placed around Temple Square throughout 2025 and 2026 — that will highlight key moments in the life of Jesus Christ and Church history.

“Temple Square has always had gardens and sculptures,” said Bill Williams, director of temple design for the Church’s Special Projects Department, according to a news release from the Church. “This renovation allowed us to reimagine the story these sculptures and gardens could tell.”

That story is one of faith and hope, said David Hunter, an architect for the Church. “We want to convey to the world that Christ leads His Church today. These pieces are designed to share that message with the world.”

See photos of this year’s Temple Square Christmas lights below.

A star stands atop a tree near the Conference Center as part of the Christmas light displays in and around Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
The statue of the angel Moroni stands atop the Salt Lake Temple as Christmas light displays shine in the foreground at Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
People pose for a picture in front of an international Nativity as part of the Christmas light displays at Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
Paper bag luminaries glow in front of the Church Office Building as part of the Christmas light displays at Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
The Valverde family looks at the Christmas light displays in and around Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News
People walk around the reflecting pool decorated for Christmas next to the Salt Lake Temple at Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
Lily Fincher, back, of Santaquin, Utah; and Bridgette Kilmes of Provo, Utah, check out paper bag luminaries in front of the Church Office Building as part of the Christmas light displays at Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
Jordan Eliason of Saratoga Springs, Utah, holds his son Max Eliason, 4, in his coat as they check out the Christmas light displays at Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
Jessica Clayton of Sandy, Utah, along with her daughter Evelyn Clayton, 8, center, and son Connor Clayton, 11, check out the paper bag luminaries in front of the Church Office Building as part of the Christmas light displays at Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
A couple checks out the Salt Lake Temple as floating candles decorate the reflecting pool for Christmas at Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
People walk past an international Nativity as part of the Christmas light displays at Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
The Salt Lake Temple stands behind a reflecting pool decorated for Christmas at Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
An international Nativity is illuminated as part of the Christmas light displays at Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
McKay Murdock, of Heber City, Utah, checks out an international Nativity as part of the Christmas light displays at Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
A candle illuminates a lantern as part of the Christmas light displays at Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
An international Nativity is illuminated in front of the Church Office Building as part of the Christmas light displays at Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
People check out an international Nativity as part of the Christmas light displays at Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
Paper bag luminaries glow in front of the Church Office Building as part of the Christmas light displays at Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
Floating candles decorate the reflecting pool for Christmas at Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
A paper bag luminary glows near the Conference Center as part of the Christmas light displays in and around Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
Paper bag luminaries glow in front of the Church Office Building as part of the Christmas light displays at Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
People look at Christmas lights from the Conference Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
People look at the Christmas light displays in and around Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News
People look at the Christmas light displays in and around Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News
The Laterza family looks at the Christmas light displays in and around Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News
People look at the Christmas light displays in and around Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News
Todd and Wendy Betty, from McCammon, Idaho, look at the Christmas light displays in and around Temple Square during a trip to Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News
Harper Hensley, 4, from Saratoga Springs, Utah, looks at an international Nativity display that is part of the Christmas light displays in and around Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News
Sisters — Gemma Aragon, 9, left; and Jade Aragon, 11, right — chase each other under the glowing lights of the Christmas displays in and around Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News
People look at the Christmas light displays in and around Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News
Messages about what people like about Christmas are displayed on paper ornaments hanging on a Christmas tree at the Church History Museum in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
Seth Harvey, 11, grabs glue as he and his sister, Saralyn Harvey, 13, work on crafts beside their mother, Angelyn Harvey, all of Gunnison, Colorado, at the Church History Museum in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
Kolton Hebdon, 9, of Perry, Utah, writes a message on an ornament at the Church History Museum in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
Anastasia Harvey, 16, of Gunnison, Colorado, sports a paper crown with candles she created as she and her siblings work on crafts at the Church History Museum in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
Marlon Lopez Jr., left, and Marlon Lopez Sr. look at the Christmas light displays in and around Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News
Brother and sister — Ryker Stratford, 4, left; and Adaline Stratford, 7, right — both look at an international Nativity display that is part of the Christmas lights in and around Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News
People look at the Christmas light displays in and around Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News
People look at the Christmas light displays in and around Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News
Sisters Lauren Gray, left and Emily Voyles, right, look at the Christmas light displays in and around Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News
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