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SALT LAKE CITY — The lights on Temple Square are burning bright.
The lights were turned on for the first time Friday evening, per tradition on the day after Thanksgiving, and will remain on until Jan. 1. The lights will be lit from 4:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. each evening and from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. each morning.
The first lighting ceremony on Temple Square was held in 1965 when nearly 15,000 people gathered to watch then-church President David O. McKay push the button to light 40,000 lights. During the ceremony, President McKay said, "Our minds tonight should be on the babe of Bethlehem, whose coming into the world Christmas morning reminds us all that we each should have in our hearts the love of Christ."
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints no longer holds a formal lighting ceremony on Temple Square, but the lights continue each year as a reminder of the birth of Jesus Christ.
Concerts and guided tours are scheduled throughout the month of December on Temple Square.
An area of Temple Square surrounding the historic Salt Lake Temple is closed while the temple continues to undergo significant seismic improvements and other renovations.
