It Is Now My Pleasant Duty on Behalf of the Worshipful Master and All the Members Of

It is now my pleasant duty on behalf of the Worshipful Master and all the Members of ...... Lodge to make this Presentation to you of a Pair of White during the Ceremony of Initiation

You have been constantly referred to as the Candidate which word is derived from the Latin word 'candidatus' meaning white from which also is derived the English word 'candid' meaning honest and straightforward hence the whiteness of your apparel is meant to symbolise the honesty and straightforward nature of all our work and actions

You were taught something of this when you were Invested with your White Apron and although as one progresses in Masonry one's Apron accumulates extra adornment in various shades of Blue (point one out) Silver (point to one) and even Gold (point out one) nevertheless all our aprons are basically white as indeed are the Gloves which you can see that we are all wearing

At the moment however you are without such a pair so please accept this pair (present them) with the best wishes of the Master and Brethren of this lodge as our first Gift to our new Brother and put them on whilst I tell you something further of the history and significance of a Presentation of this kind

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 while 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 Freemasons throughout the world.

Four hundred and two years ago, on the 15th. Of January in the year 1599 the records of the Kilwinning Lodge in Ayrshire, Scotland; state that a particular brother one Donald Ian 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 to be 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 a pair of white gloves as part of their regalia, and their duty is to put them on prior to entering a Freemason’s Lodge meeting.

Further investigation shows, that from the 1720’s onwards, records refer to the custom of the initiate himself, presenting a pair of white gloves to each of the brethren who attended his initiation; however, by the mid eighteenth century, in many Lodges, this was altered, to the Initiate now being presented with two sets of white gloves. One pair for his own use, and the other a pair of longer gloves, for the Lady of his choice. The first recorded instance of a Presentation of White Gloves to a New Initiate was in the year 1730 when a Brother called John Coustous was Initiated into a London Lodge He was a Jeweller by trade but as young men will he decided to seek his fame and fortune abroad which venture took him to Lisbon the capital city of Portugal However the religious persecution in which those not adhering to the Roman Catholic faith were oppressed and known as the Spanish Inquisition was active at the time It was not confined to Spain but spread throughout the Hiberian Peninsula which of course embraces Portugal

Coustous was captured tortured and unfortunately under torture revealed numerous Masonic Secrets' including the details of his having been presented with white gloves at his Initiation and not with just one pair but two Because apparently the custom arose in some Lodges of presenting a second pair to the Candidate to enable him to take them home and give then to his Wife or the Lady of his choice to symbolise to her the innocence and honesty of the proceedings in which her husband had been involved Although by reason of his Obligation he was precluded from revealing the details thereof in just the same way as you are because of the Obligation you have recently taken on the Volume of the Sacred law (point to it)

Symbolically the white of these gloves denotes innocence and purity. During the ceremony of your initiation, here this evening, you were invested with the apron of an entered apprentice Freemason, during which ceremony, you were told that the apron is ‘the Badge of Innocence, and the Bond of Friendship’. This will now blend with the purity of your white gloves, symbolically denoting a purity of action, rectitude of conduct, a never-ending argument for higher thoughts, nobler deeds, and greater achievements.

You will henceforth wear these Gloves at all future meetings of the Lodge save on the two subsequent occasions when you are yourself again a Candidate in the Superior Degrees and in one of these you will learn of a particular instance in Masonic History when the wearing of White Gloves by the Brethren assumed a peculiar significance

The Presentation of White Gloves tends to be the exception rather than the rule these days and in some Lodges Iying mainly to the North of here where it is still practised the Initiate is told at this stage that whilst he remains an Entered Apprentice he is expected at all meetings to sit in the North East part of the Lodge to symbolise his recent Admission We do not insist on it in this Lodge but it is worth mentioning in case you visit one. which does In most Lodges including this one you may sit in any seat save those occupied by the Lodge Officers those to the immediate right of the Worshipful Master which are traditionally reserved for the Grand and Provincial Officers (point to them) and those to the immediate left of the Worshipful Master which are similarly reserved for the Masters of other Lodges and Past Masters (like myself) who have not yet attained Provincial Rank

The Junior Deacon will now be pleased to conduct you to such a seat