The Feast of St. Andrew

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

Robert H. Johnson

There are many celebratory days in Freemasonry, two notable events are the Feasts of the Saint's John. These are so prevalent that in many Grand Jurisdictions these feasts are outlined as a suggested activity. In English Masonry, it is even more common. These two days remarkably also happen to align with the Solstices.

But today, November 30th, is a different feast, the Feast of St. Andrew. The Feast of St. Andrew is the national day of Scotland. Andrew was the brother of St. Peter and is known in some orthodoxy as Andrew the Apostle. St. Andrew is also the Patriarch of Constantinople.

St. Andrew has a prevalent place in Masonry, from actual degrees named after him to Service organizations like the Knights of St. Andrew which operate within the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite (AASR). The organization operates in both the Northern Masonic and Southern Jurisdictions. You can read about them at THIS LINK. In addition, English Masonry is said to be have been born from Scottish Masonry, and so--perhaps this feast is even more important...

The feast itself is not unlike others in that there is food, fellowship and toasts. Your jurisdiction may have a prescribed ritual for this while others may not. Check with your Grand Lodge to find out. St. Andrew's virtues are many and rather than expound on them here and reiterate work that has been done, follow THIS LINK.

Tonight, my lodge will be honoring our Brothers and St. Andrew at our annual Feast of St. Andrew--No haggis though, this isn't about the permiscuous...err..infamous Bobby Burns ;) We'll have fellowship, toasts and of course Masonic Education.

Have a great Feast of St. Andrew everyone!

~RHJ

RWB, Robert Johnson is the Managing Editor of the Midnight Freemasons blog. He is a Freemason out of the 1st N.E. District of Illinois. He currently serves as the Secretary of Spes Novum Lodge No. 1183 UD. He is a Past Master of Waukegan Lodge 78 and a Past District Deputy Grand Master for the 1st N.E. District of Illinois. Brother Johnson currently produces and hosts weekly Podcasts (internet radio programs) Whence Came You? & Masonic Radio Theatre which focus on topics relating to Freemasonry. He is also a co-host of The Masonic Roundtable, a Masonic talk show. He is a husband and father of four, works full time in the executive medical industry. He is the co-author of "It's Business Time - Adapting a Corporate Path for Freemasonry" and is currently working on a book of Masonic essays and one on Occult Anatomy to be released soon.