"It's great," said Rich Linder, a Sandy father, who brought his five children to downtown's opening night events. He said that the Jazz Bear, cavorting to entertain the crowd, is a favorite for his kids.

"I'm enjoying it," said Loyce Johnson, 72, from Richfield. Despite the advent of electricity and electronics, he believes the spirit of Christmas hasn't changed a lot over the years.

"It's great to be downtown," said Carol Lindsey of Salt Lake City. Her two grandchildren from Wilsonville, Ore., also had fun. Mitchell Tollstrup, 12, especially liked the jugglers, while Kalin, 9, preferred Santa and the reindeer.

"It's wonderful," said Ursula De Haan, also of Salt Lake City. "We come here every year and in between."

Her husband, Paul, believes the downtown lights are getting a little better every year.

Although a few downtown stores already had holiday lights, the downtown light display of today was the brainchild of the late E. Earl Hawkes, former Deseret News publisher. Hawkes proposed the lighting on Temple Square in the fall of 1965 and was backed by Elder Mark E. Petersen, a member of the Quorum of Twelve of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and chairman of the Deseret News board.

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E-mail: lynn@desnews.com