The Esperanto jubilee symbol ( eo, jubilea simbolo) is a cultural symbol that was created in 1987 to mark the 100th anniversary of

Esperanto 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 communi ...

. 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 , bg, кирилица , mk, кирилица , russian: кириллица , sr, ћирилица, uk, кирилиця , fam1 = Egyptian hieroglyphs , fam2 = Proto-Sinaitic , fam3 = Phoenician , fam4 = G ...

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 The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

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 communi ...

appeared too sectarian. Nowadays, many people use the Jubilee Symbol to represent the international Esperanto culture as a whole. For example, the Universal Esperanto Association 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 includes the green star and the word Esperanto.

See also