Traditional lights and an assortment of performances by choirs and other musical groups will bring festive touches to the Christmas season on Temple Square this year.

The traditional Christmas lights on Temple Square will be turned on at 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 24, and will remain on every evening through Monday, Jan. 1.A 5:30 p.m. ceremony in the Tabernacle will precede the turning on of a quarter-million tiny lights strung through trees and shrubs and along buildings and walkways of Temple Square.

Elder L. Tom Perry of the Council of the Twelve will deliver a Christmas message during the ceremony and then will operate the switch to activate the lighting display.

The ceremony also will feature Christmas music by the Mormon Youth Symphony and Chorus, under the direction of Robert C. Bowden.

Peter Lassig, Church landscape architect and grounds service manager, is supervising a crew of seven that has been stringing lights since early October.

"Our job isn't finished until the lights go on," said Hellmut Bork, who, with Ty Nielsen, assists Lassig with the annual project.

"Pink and red lights will be the predominant color again this year," Nielsen said, "but white, amber, orange, green and blue lights are also used."

Three to four hours are required to tightly wrap the lights around a single crab apple tree, Bork said, adding that "there are 52 of them on the Square." The tight wrap assures that the lights will hold up under the weight of snow and ice and will maintain the desired design.

The Cedar of Lebanon tree near the temple represents the greatest challenge. "It took four days to put lights in that tree," said Nielsen.

Some 30,000 visitors toured the Square on the first night of the lighting display last year and about 500,000 came during the Christmas season.

Other Christmas season events on Temple Square include the Tabernacle Choir's annual Christmas concert, planned for Friday, Dec. 22, and Saturday, Dec. 23, at 7:30 p.m. The Mormon Youth Symphony and Chorus concert is set for Friday and Saturday, Dec. 1 and 2, at 8 p.m. Both these concerts will be in the Tabernacle, as will a Christmas carol "sing-in" with the Mormon Youth Symphony Wednesday, Dec. 13, at 7:30 p.m. (See related story on page 12.) The public is invited, and all concerts are free.

Musical programs are planned on Temple Square for every evening during the Christmas season. These will feature 196 school, church, community and family choirs and instrumental groups from throughout Utah and southern Idaho. Performances will be in the Tabernacle, Assembly Hall, and in the Square's two visitors centers. Some performers will carol while strolling Temple Square's walkways.

The only event of the season involving paid admission on Temple Square is the traditional presentation of Handel's "Messiah" Saturday, Dec. 9 and Sunday, Dec. 10, in the Tabernacle. This event features the Oratorio Society of Utah and the Utah Symphony. Tickets ($5, $8, and $10) are available at the symphony box office, 123 W. South Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah 84101.