Masonic dates are written “A.L.” before figures which never correspond with the number of the year in which we live; why?
Freemasonry’s practice has followed the ancient belief that the world was created four thousand years before Christ; that when God said “Let there be light” the world began. Therefore Masons date their doings four thousand years plus the current year, “Anno Lucis,” or “In the year of Light.” It is but another of Freemasonry’s many ties with a day so old no man may name it.
