The Universal Language of Freemasonry - ArchiMeD - Johannes ...

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Chapter 4 - Signs & Symbols
Masonic apron with two rosettes, square & compass
Sickels' The General Ahiman Rezon states that in the past, the apron was "a
universally-received emblem of Truth," 442 and also lists several examples from
antique mysteries in which the investiture with an apron played an important
role. Thus, among the Grecian mysteries, the candidate received a white robe and
apron, and in Persia this investiture succeeded to the commission of light. Here,
it consisted of a girdle displaying the twelve signs of the Zodiac; a tiara, a white
apron, and a purple tunic.
The Masonic apron is an emblem of innocence and purity and was intended
to be made of white lambskin. But with the creation of higher degrees, and also
through the need which arose by public presentations, such as cornerstone
layings, processions, or Masonic funerals, the aprons became more decorated,
and were made of other materials, like silk. The aprons are worn in a different
way in the first three degrees:
442 Sickels, p. 74.