Hundreds of people took the chance Friday evening to be the first to see this season’s Christmas light displays in Temple Square in downtown Salt Lake City.
The lights are a long-standing tradition outside the global headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The church creates what it calls “Christ-centered displays” and free activities through the holiday season.
More areas on Temple Square are open to the public this season, as renovation efforts continue. The areas around the scaffold-covered Salt Lake Temple remain closed to the public. The church has scheduled an open house celebration to begin in April 2027, to mark the temple’s reopening.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Holiday lights illuminate Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 28, 2025.
Lights will be on in open areas of Temple Square daily from 6-8 a.m. and from 4:30-10 p.m. through Jan. 1.
Temple Square’s light displays are the latest to be switched on in downtown Salt Lake City this season. The Christmas tree in City Creek Center, the candy windows at the City Creek Macy’s store, the seasonal display “The Turning Season” in the Eccles Theater lobby, and the ice rink and the “Glow” installation at Gallivan Center are all open to the public.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Mother Nature puts on its own light show as the sun sets and the holiday lights are turned at the Conference Center by Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 28, 2025.
Other Christmas events in and around Temple Square include:
• The Roof restaurant on the top floor of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, 15 E. South Temple, is taking holiday reservations. The remodeled restaurant reopened on Nov. 14, after being closed since the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The Church History Museum, at 60 W. North Temple, will feature musical performances from community and school groups in the auditorium; a display of Victorian Christmas decor in the Drawing Room; and the church’s Giving Machines in the lobby. The museum’s hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays, and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays.
• The Conference Center has large, Christmas-themed artwork on display through January, which can be seen during regular hours: Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Holiday lights illuminate Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 28, 2025.
• The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square’s annual Christmas concerts are set for Thursday-Saturday, Dec. 11-13, at 8 p.m. each night, in the Conference Center. Featured guest performers this year are Broadway stars Stephanie J. Block and Sebastian Arcelus. Tickets are free, but have already been distributed; a standby line will start forming at 6:30 p.m. each night.
• Live performances of “Music and the Spoken Word” happen Sundays at 9:30 a.m. at the Conference Center. The Dec. 14 show is a special performance featuring Block and Arcelus. Admission is free, and no advance tickets are necessary.
• The theatrical experience “Savior of the World” is performed each day (except Sundays and Mondays) through Saturday, Dec. 27, at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. in the Conference Center’s Little Theater. Tickets have already been distributed, but a standby line will be available in the Conference Center Plaza lobby (near the west wall portrait gallery).
• Concerts and nighttime performances are scheduled at various locations around Temple Square, starting Sunday through Dec. 23. Performers include school, missionary and community choir groups, as well as string, flute, guitar and bell groups. A schedule is available on the church’s website.