Lights, Santa . . . Christmas!

For holiday eye candy, the 40th edition of Salt Lake City's downtown Christmas lights are sure to please.

By connecting one huge electrical outlet, Presiding Bishop H. David Burton of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints set downtown, including Temple Square, ablaze with holiday lights at 6:36 p.m. Friday.

Earlier, in West Valley City on Friday morning, the annual Santa Christmas Parade officially welcomed St. Nick to town and featured everything from Chomper the Kearns Oquirrh Park Shark, all decked out in a red nose and antlers, to karate demonstrators from the United Studios of Self Defense.

The star of the show, as always, was Santa Claus himself, riding in at the end of a parade on a float accompanied by Mrs. Claus.

"Santa's the best part of Christmas," 4-year-old Sylvia Gutierrez of West Valley City said as her 2-year-old brother, Marcos, danced excitedly to Christmas music coming from the floats.

Youngsters and parents lined the streets, waving frantically and grabbing up all the candy and treats they could get their hands on as Santa rode by.

The West Valley City Chamber of Commerce stocked its volunteers with about 4,000 little bags of treats, and by the end of the parade, almost all of them were gone.

And while almost everyone was there to catch the season's first glimpse of St. Nick, there were those in the crowd with different favorites altogether.

Five-year-old Jason Davis of Taylorsville said the best part of the parade was the Granger Little League football team. Jason said he was going to ask Santa for a football for Christmas. He also got a kick out of the El Kalah Masonic Shrine Klunkers riding on their miniature replicas of the 1911 Ford Model T and wearing the traditional red fez.

But that doesn't mean Jason wasn't jumping and waving when Santa came by, flashing the old elf an ear-to-ear smile and yelling, "Merry Christmas!"

This year's parade included entry announcements in both English and Spanish at various points along the parade route, which started at 3400 West and headed east on 3500 South to the Valley Fair Mall.

Later in the day, Robert Farrington Jr., executive director of Salt Lake's Downtown Alliance, who organized Salt Lake's "Lights On" event, said the Utah tradition is simply a great way for families to bond.

Considered one of the nation's greatest Christmas light displays, according to the Downtown Alliance, the nearby Gallivan Center also staged its 12th annual lighting of the plaza. Later, the third annual "Light Up the Night Concert," featuring special guest Kurt Bestor, was held at the Gateway.