The snowflakes inside the Kane County Courthouse in Geneva really do appear to be magical.

As you can see from these photos, the interior of the courthouse is transformed during the holiday season. Three-dimensional snowflakes, each about a foot to a foot-and-a-half wide, appear to be floating through the air. The effect, when viewed from one of the upper floors or from the main floor looking up, is very close to spectacular.

Kane County Connects first found out about the snowflake extravaganza from alert reader Judy Lyday, a Jury Commission clerk.

“For several years now, (WAY before my time since this is only my second holiday season working here), handmade paper snowflakes have been hung with care from several floors of the courthouse,” she said via email. “It is a painstaking process but the end result is breathtaking! When you walk inside the rotunda and look up, it’s like seeing snow falling. The air flow make the snowflakes move ever so gently. It is definitely worth a trip to see exactly what I’m talking about.”

The person who really organizes the decorating and does a lot of the creative heavy lifting is Lyday’s courthouse co-worker Mary Barnette. She says the holiday tradition was started about 11 years ago or more, and the baton was passed to her from previous co-workers about three years ago.

“I had a lot of help this year. We made all the snowflakes,” she said. “They’re 3D and hung by fishing wire and string from railing to railing. It’s quite a task.”

The three-dimensional flakes are made with paper, starting with a large, square piece of paper, and put together like the most intricate bit of origami. If you want to see more, check out some of these Pinterest images.

Barnette said it took about a week to make and hang the 72 snowflakes — 36 from railings on each floor — that make up the display.

“We just did it because it looks nice,” she said.

Barnette said the reaction from people walking into the courthouse for the first time varies.

“We get all kinds of comments: ‘They’re beautiful!’ or ‘How do that do that?’ Mostly, people look up and they’re like, ‘Whoa.’ ”

That was my reaction when I went into the courthouse Thursday and took some of the photos you see here.

While some of the holiday decorations are taken down after the new year, the snowflakes usually stay in place until the end of February, a gift from Barnette and her co-workers that truly makes the season bright.

“It’s my pleasure to do it,” she said.