When the switch is flipped the day after Thanksgiving, hundreds of thousands of lights will illuminate Temple Square and some of them will be energy-conserving LED lights. Within the next three to five years, all of the trees and greenery on Temple Square will be lit with LED lights.

The LED lights are low energy, according to Eldon Cannon, group manager for Temple Square’s Ground Services. “They do not use nearly as much electricity, and as a result we will be saving energy and saving costs.”

The first tree going green is the famed cedar of Lebanon. Seventy-five years later it stands at 70 feet, making it one of the largest trees on Temple Square. Cannon said the LED lights on the cedar of Lebanon tree will create an interesting effect. “The lights are brighter at the tip-end than they are from the side. As you walk by this tree, it seems to have a blinking, shimmering effect with these new LED lights.”

The extensive process of decorating Temple Square and setting up the light display begins at the beginning of August and ends in March, when the lights are taken down. Visitors will also find fabric and metal luminaries scattered throughout the grounds featuring messages of Christ. The metal luminaries provide a visual representation of the life of Christ, with various scenes from Christ’s life that are carefully carved onto metal and eventually molded into the shape of a can.
 
The lights are turned on at dusk and turned off at 10 p.m. on Temple Square and 10:30 p.m. on the areas surrounding the square. The light display ends on New Year’s Eve.