What about those so-called - funny handshakes - and - passwords - Do they exist

9. What about those so-called "funny handshakes" and "passwords"? Do they exist?

They certainly do! They're rather quaint, old-fashioned and the butt of many a joke! Masons can find them amusing too. Still much in use today, they remain as a centuries old tradition, from the days when there were no reliable means of identity as there are today.

In bygone days, by giving a particular password and a distinctive handshake when visiting other Lodges, a Freemason could prove his membership and demonstrate the "degree" he had obtained in the Craft.

The concept of the password and handshake is thought to have stemmed from ancient times when stonemasons used similar methods to prove their level of expertise when finding new work.

There were no employee references in those days to take to a new employer! So a series of carefully guarded words was used, each representing a particular level of proficiency in stonemasonry. It prevented unskilled stonemasons from claiming to be skilled. And also, of course, on this, depended the level of pay at which they were contracted!

In the same vein, stonemasons guarded their identity so diligently that they would make their own unique "mark" - the stonemasons' mark - on every piece of stone they carved. These can still be seen today on the stonework of castles, cathedrals, churches and palaces all over the world. The leading stonemasons used these marks to identify the origin of outstanding or faulty workmanship.

But for the working mason, the mark became his personal hallmark, of pride in his work. Improving his standard of workmanship, overcoming imperfections, was his sole means of improving his lot in life.

In the same spirit, Masons today are encouraged continuously to develop and improve themselves. By adopting worthy values and exercising commendable standards of personal conduct, so he develops his own personal hallmark.