Lights at the Temple

December 6, 2023

As you walk towards the D.C. Temple, the first thing that strikes you about this grand structure is the luxurious fountain that sits in front of the temple. You make note of the twinkling all around it and then take in all of the marvelous and vibrant lights that set the holiday mood as families walk past smiling and laughing, enjoying the perfect way to welcome in the Christmas spirit.

On Thursday, November 30, 2023, the D.C. Mormon Temple opened up its stunning Festival of Lights display free of charge! The temple, located at 9900 Stoneybrook Drive in Kensington, MD, does a great job setting up this amazing display of brilliant colorful Christmas lights.

The Washington DC Temple, The Church Jesus Christ, and All Latter-day Saints has been standing on the 57.4-acre hilltop property since 1974, and is the third largest temple in the world, according to the Washington, D.C. Temple website. The site also reports that the temple has served people from all over the DMV area as well as New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, and was the first on the east coast of the country.

The walk around the entire display takes around thirty minutes to complete. The entirety is made up of beautiful trees lit up with over 400,000 Christmas lights. As you walk through the display, you hear the sounds of children as well as adults “ouu-ing” and “awe-ing” at the stunning lights–families laughing and enjoying this holiday time together.

This year’s Festival of Lights is open from Thursday, November 30th through January 1st. All participants are welcome to walk along the grounds of the temple and, again, all entry and parking is free of charge. The display of lights will be on each day from 4:45 p.m.-9:00 p.m., and the visitors center is open from 10:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m. The lights display is open to everyone of all cultures and religions.

‘It’s really amazing to see! The lights reflecting off of the water in the fountain are really beautiful,” my father stated as we were leaving the festival.

“It really is amazing,” said one person who was there with his family, “I’ve come every year with my family and it’s been a beautiful tradition.”

If you love holiday light displays and can get to Kensington, you won’t be disappointed by the Washington DC Temple Festival of Lights.

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About the Contributor

Elizabeth Hernandez-Bustamante, Staff Writer

Are you someone that enjoys the calm and chill vibes that fall brings? The leaves change and then fall, the temperature goes down, not too hot, not too cold, and the days get ever so shorter. Freshman Elizabeth Hernandez, is a down to earth, relatable person. Who can easily create a comfortable environment and keep a conversation interesting. Let's get to know her a little bit. Life is an active roller coaster but Elizabeth remains strong and excited about it, which is probably why she rates life pretty highly right now. She replied with “Honestly I would say like a 9 out of 10, “you know I’m a little tired.” We all can agree with that because who’s not tired? Moving more into Elizabeth's lifestyle, she says that if her life was a song it would be titled “Changes,” something many can relate to. In fact, could there be a better answer? It’s something that everyone experiences whether they like it or not, but everyone can change how they deal with it. With reference to food choices like pizza toppings Elizabeth likes to keep it simple, as a good pepperoni pizza is all that's needed. As for music, Elizabeth’s favorite artists at the moment consist of Rihanna and Drake. One question that’s always interesting to ask is whether a person is more into dogs or cats. According to Elizabeth she prefers cats, though she has a dog. While on the subject of animals, Elizabeth when asked what animal she thinks best represents herself, states that she would say a dog for their lovely qualities. “I would say dogs, because they like to get distracted easily and that’s something that happens to me a lot,” she states. Fun fact about Elizabeth is that she speaks fluent Spanish. Another interesting fact on Elizabeth is just what superpower she would have. She states, “Teleportation so you don't have to be late to class and walk up all the stairs”. By: Michael Evans

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Lights at the Temple

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