Thousands gathered on Temple Square Nov. 23 to witness the silver anniversary of a rich Latter-day Saint tradition. For 25 years, visitors to Temple Square have enjoyed the spirit of the holiday season amidst a myriad of Christmas lights strung throughout Temple Square.

The 40,000 lights strung for the first lighting in 1965 provided quite a task. Today, landscape gardeners from the Physical Facilities Department work for seven weeks prior to the lighting ceremony, climbing trees and ladders to string nearly a quarter of a million festive lights."Basically, whether it's flowers or lights, it makes no difference," said Peter Lassig, group manager of grounds services on Temple Square. "Our goal is to produce wonderful spontaneous compositions." He added that the gardeners who decorate Temple Square "have been given a clear focus of our mission and then basically told that we want them to use their best judgment to express their joy in the gospel, emotionally and visually."

Brother Lassig explained that work begins for the festive season the day after October general conference. Landscape gardener, Ty Nielsen, supervises seven workers who spend the next seven weeks designing and arranging the light patterns.

Brother Nielsen said between 175,000 and 250,000 lights are strung each year. He estimated that about 100 trees are decorated each year. There are also hedges, bushes, ground covers, the windows in the Assembly Hall and the pillars in the Tabernacle that are decorated.

"On the big trees, we just do the tips, rather than the whole branch. It actually gives the appearance that we've put on more lights because it gives a sense of depth. It turned out to look better than before. It also cut down on the amount of time it took to put the lights in the tree," he explained.

Winding light strands around branches year after year gives the trees a beating, Brother Lassig added. "Right now we have decided to rest some of the trees. They have two years to develop new wood and new flower buds."

When Temple Square was first decorated in December 1965, Brother Lassig explained that smaller lights weren't available in the United States, so they were imported from Italy. Today, they are imported from China through a local vendor, he noted.

"We have a spiritual and an emotional responsibility to express the joy of Christmas. It's part of being a citizen," Brother Lassig explained.

Brother Nielsen noted that being a part of the 25th anniversary is "awesome. Not everybody gets to be a part of something that is such a rich tradition. I can't find anything to express how I feel."

Up until November 1965, the atmosphere during the winter on Temple Square was very different from what it is today. Early that month, then Church President David O. McKay and the members of the First Presidency requested that the Church Information Committee direct efforts for a Christmas display on Temple Square, according to the Dec. 18, 1965, issue of the Church News.

Elder Richard L. Evans, then of the Council of the Twelve, and a member of the Church Information Committee, was placed in charge of the decorations.

An earlier Church News article reported approximately 40,000 tiny bulbs lighted eight chestnut and sycamore trees in the area between the temple and the Bureau of Information, where now stands the South Visitors Center.

A Nativity scene was erected in front of the monuments to Joseph and Hyrum Smith. The little log cabin that used to sit in the southeast corner of Temple Square was decorated for "an early-day Christmas celebration portraying a pioneer family," the article continued.

Even the south gateway was decorated with lights, and the message, "Good will toward men," lit the entrance.

On Dec. 9, 1965, President McKay spoke during this first lighting ceremony and flipped the switch for the first time. "Our minds tonight should be on the Babe of Bethlehem whose coming into the world on Christmas morning reminds us that each one should have in his heart the light of Christ," he said.

Elder Evans, who was master of ceremonies that evening, said, "We thought that Temple Square should be a place where men could come and reflect on the real meaning of Christmas."

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, then under the direction of Richard P. Condie, sang at that first dedication. Other singing groups performed throughout that holiday season and Christmas carols recorded by the Tabernacle Choir were broadcast over loudspeakers continuously.