Ok…the tradition of the Red Mass is that it got its name from the red vestments that the clergy wear as the Red Mass uses the votive Mass of the Holy Spirit.
Exactly. If a ‘Red’ Mass isn’t ‘Red’ because of the robes traditionally worn by judges, but because of the vestments of the priest, then how on earth would the ‘Red’ Mass held to mark the start of each legal term differ from any of the myriad other masses during the year where red vestments are worn? Should we not equally refer to all of them as ‘red’ masses then?
The Red Mass tradition is centuries older than the recent tradition of holding Blue Masses, White Masses or other “Color Mass”. The term Red Mass primarily refers to the red vestments of the clergy celebrating a votive Mass asking for blessing upon the judiciary, but it is also a secondary reference to the red robes of high court judges in England and other European countries (a color scheme borrowed form red being the academic color of theologians; the academic color associated with legal studies later became purple). When the other special Masses with color names developed, they developed centuries later but with their names referring not to the color of the vestments of the clergy, but to the colors associated with the professions for which the Masses were being held: i.e. Blue for law enforcement, White for health professions, etc.
