Meeting DeMolay for the first time is a basic milestone when it comes to the Rainbow experience. When you're first exposed to DeMolay, many things come to mind. You realize quickly that DeMolay are not your average teenage boys and are practically a different species. Then you become intrigued. While the three Masonic Youth Groups are all fairly similar, we all have our own little things that make us unique. DeMolay has quite a few of these little quirks. While Rainbow Girls could spend hours drilling DeMolay about their quirks, I've composed a list of the 7 basic questions we all have.
1- Why do you pray like that?
If you have not been fortunate enough to witness a DeMolay prayer just imagine 15 synchronized Tim Tebows in one room. While I have personally seen them kneel down to pray about 20 times now, the reasoning behind it has never been explained.
Is it for fun? Is it deep and meaningful? Is it because it looks cool? We just need an answer.
2- Why do you square your corners so aggressively?
In the Masonic world you don't simply turn a corner when walking. Turning corners is an art that takes years to perfect. In Rainbow we square our corners very precisely and it looks really beautiful when we're wearing hoop dresses. In DeMolay though, it's kind of scary. Once I had a DeMolay boy fall into my lap because he squared his corner a little too hard.
I feel like you guys are a walking liability when it comes to corners, especially when you add in swords.
3- Do you know you can blow a candle out?
Every time I watch the Ceremony of Light, I die a little on the inside. These boys literally extinguish 7 candles with their fingers. I've tried that before and I learned really quickly that flames are hot and painful.
Honestly, I'm jealous that you're all capable of touching fire while performing ritual.
4- Do the colors of your robes mean anything?
Robes are probably the most intriguing part of DeMolay. Firstly, they get to wear capes. How cool is that? Secondly, they vary in color and similarly to their prayer thing and no one has ever explained why. What do these colors mean? Why are some boys wearing purple and some wearing black?
And while we're on the topic of these mysterious robes,
5- What's the deal with robes anyways?
My home Chapter doesn't wear robes so it wasn't until I went to an Installation outside of their Region that I saw a robe for the first time. Ever since then I've wondered if my home Chapter has been doing something wrong or if they're optional. Is there a page in the DeMolay ritual dedicated to explaining the use of robes?
6- Why do you perform a play in the middle of Initiation?
I've seen this performed once before and it was really cool so I don't blame you guys for putting it on, but why do you do it? Does the ritual specify that it needs to be done or is performing it a choice? Is the script for it in the ritual or is it in a different book? Are parts distributed based on your office in the Chapter or is it random?
7- Why don't you have a Majority Service?
One of the most important parts of a Rainbow Girl's life is when she takes Majority. It involves a lot of tears and a lot of hugs. But that seems to be something DeMolay doesn't have. What happens when you guys hit 21? Do you just stop showing up? Do you get a card? Is there crying involved?
While us Rainbow Girls have come to a consensus that DeMolay is weird, we also know we wouldn't change any of it. DeMolay wouldn't be DeMolay without these quirks (but seriously, some answers would be nice)
