The Apron is not a modern invention; in fact it is the most ancient of all garments. In the 3rd Chapter of Genesis these words are written: "and the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons."
Aprons have been used in religious rites since time immemorial especially when delivering burnt offerings and blood sacrifices of various animals to the altars of ancient gods. On monuments and wall paintings in Ancient Egypt a garment, which can best be described as a triangular apron with the point upward, is depicted, in circumstances indicating that the wearer is taking part in some kind of ceremony of initiation. In connection with this fact, it is interesting to note that in Egypt it was customary to bestow a ‘collar of office’ on those whom the Pharaoh wished to honour. Such collars were circular in shape and on many occasions the Pharaoh himself is depicted wearing one in addition to his crook and flail as a symbol of his high office.
In the origins of Freemasonry, operative stonemasons of the time utilized Aprons in many ways. The apprentices would be responsible for chipping off large pieces of stones causing massive amounts of debris to come off. This meant that the Apprentice would have to wear the apron with the flap on it turned up in order to keep debris from destroying his clothing. The Journeyman would wear his apron as away to hold his tools so that way when he worked to fine tune the stone into usable building materials he would be able to do so with easy access to this tools. The Master Mason or Master of the Work would wear his apron with the corner of his apron turned under the flap of his apron to form a triangle. This showed all of the workmen that he was the one in charge.
In speculative Masonry, the same ideals of wearing the apron to complete certain tasks are upheld, symbolically of course. The Apron is presented first as an Entered Apprentice as a badge of a Mason and the emblem of innocence. The Apprentice wears his apron with the flap turned up as he knocks off the loose and rugged pieces of himself to create a better man out of himself. The Fellowcraft keeps the working tools of each degree in his receptacle so he can reference them whenever needed to fine tune the roughly cleaned stone into a solid building block in society. Finally, as Master Masons, we use the work we did as a workman and as an apprentice to find our place in the world and to build our legacy for years to come.
Bro. Matthew R. Ross
Battle Creek Lodge No. 12
Grand Lodge of Michigan, F.&A.M.
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