The Esperanto jubilee symbol ( eo, jubilea simbolo) is a cultural symbol that was created in 1987 to mark the 100th anniversary of Esperanto. Because of its shape, the symbol is sometimes informally called the melon (), egg () or rugby ball (). With a Latin E on one side and a Cyrillic Э (for {{Lang, ru, Эсперанто) on the other, it can be interpreted as being inclusive of East and West. At the time, the Cold War was being waged between the United States and the Soviet Union, and they represented the largest enemies in the world. The desire for a more modern-looking symbol for Esperanto arose when many Esperanto speakers felt that the

Esperanto flag Esperanto ( or ) is the world's most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Created by the Warsaw-based ophthalmologist L. L. Zamenhof in 1887, it was intended to be a universal second language for international commun ...

appeared too sectarian. Nowadays, many people use the Jubilee Symbol to represent the international

Esperanto culture Esperanto culture refers to the shared cultural experience of the Esperantujo, or Esperanto-speaking community. Despite being a constructed language, Esperanto has a history dating back to the late 19th century, and shared socio-cultural norms have ...

as a whole. For example, the

Universal Esperanto Association The Universal Esperanto Association ( eo, Universala Esperanto-Asocio, UEA), also known as the World Esperanto Association, is the largest international organization of Esperanto speakers, with 5501 individual members in 121 countries and 9215 th ...

and

Esperanto-USA Esperanto-USA (E-USA) is the largest organization for speakers and supporters of Esperanto in the United States. It was founded in 1952 as the Esperanto League for North America (ELNA) in Sacramento, California. Headquartered in Portland, Maine ...

use it as their symbol. Variations of the symbol involve the addition of a green star, the addition of the text "ESPERANTO", a national or local symbol, or a combination of the three. For example, the official logo of the

Esperanto Association of Britain The Esperanto Association of Britain (EAB) is a registered educational charity whose objective is to advance education in and about the international language Esperanto and to preserve and promote the culture and heritage of Esperanto for the educa ...

includes the green star and the word Esperanto.

See also