White gloves – symbol of equality and purity
03 June 24
The wearing of white gloves in NSW lodges seems to have decreased over the past three decades apart from members of a Grand Lodge delegation. Some lodges still require the WM and the Wardens to wear gloves but, generally, it has dropped away as a NSW custom.
A recent newsletter of Lodge Wahroonga gave an interesting report on the issue and said, in many countries a newly initiated brother received a pair of white gloves, and in some countries, he was also given a pair of ladies’ white gloves.
The report says that according to the Book of Constitutions of the Grand Lodge of NSW and the ACT, lodge members can wear white gloves at the prerogative of the WM. The following is the wording of the ceremony used by all lodges under the jurisdiction of the United Grand Lodge of England.
‘Brother – the WM has very kindly entrusted me this evening with the honour of presenting you, in open lodge with these white gloves and I would ask W Bro Director of Ceremonies to hand them to you, after which would you please put them on. Before giving a brief history and explanation on the significance of wearing these gloves, I would like to say how delighted I am to be able to congratulate you upon entering our beloved Order.
‘History tells us that the wearing of gloves is a practice that Freemasonry inherited from the operative masons who wore them to protect their hands when working on the building stone. They were originally a necessary part of a mason’s protective clothing, especially important to prevent injury, and they were supplied to the masons by their employers. This led nearly 2000 years later to the wearing of white gloves by all Freemasons throughout the four quarters of the world.
‘On the 15th January in the year 1599, the records of Kilwinning Lodge in Ayrshire, Scotland, state that a particular brother Donald Iain Fraser, upon his initiation was presented with a pair of white gloves by his fellow masons to commemorate this very special occasion. This has since been discovered as being the first official evidence of white gloves being worn by a Freemason but in the ensuing years it has become a custom and tradition for all masons to include white gloves as part of their regalia and their duty is to put them on prior to entering a Freemasons lodge meeting.
‘Further investigation shows that from the 1720s onwards, records refer to the initiate presenting a pair of white gloves to each of the brethren who attended his initiation. However, from the mid-18th century in many lodges this was altered to the initiate now being presented with two sets of white gloves by his fellow masons, one pair for his personal use and the other, a pair of longer white gloves, for the lady of his choice.
‘Whilst these two particular customs are still practised in many continental lodges, especially in France and Denmark, we in England have reverted to the traditional custom of presenting one pair of white gloves to each of our initiates. The symbolism of wearing white gloves in Freemasonry is twofold, namely denoting equality and purity.
‘Regardless of your status in society, within Freemasonry all men are equal. However, a man’s hands can often divide (we have the calloused hand of the labourer as opposed to the soft hand of the clerk) but within Freemasonry, the wearing of gloves promotes and strengthens equality.
‘Secondly, the white of these gloves denotes purity. During the ceremony of your initiation here you were invested with the apron of an EAF by our brother SW during which he emphasised that the apron is the badge of innocence and the bond of friendship. Symbolically, this will now blend with the purity of your white gloves and will, I am sure, enable you to become a better man and a good Freemason.
‘Brother, all of us here this evening, your brethren within the lodge, together with our guests, have very much pleasure in welcoming you into Freemasonry. We have all shared your day, we now applaud your success, and we look forward to your masonic career, as I am sure you do.
‘And finally, we simply ask you to follow the tradition that when you are about to enter a Freemason’s lodge, your last duty will be to put on your white gloves and we hope that when you do, you will be reminded of this, your special day of which you will have many happy memories.’
As appeared in the FREEMASON October 2006 page 35