Verda ŝminko por Esperantistoj
B1 Esperanto listening practice · Esperanto (constructed language) · Curated for intermediate learners
What does the green star mean in Esperanto culture?
Doing a green-eyeshadow tutorial “for you Esperantists,” this creator signs off as one of “ni verduloj” — “us green ones.” Green is Esperanto’s color: the verda stelo (green star) was adopted as the movement’s flag at the first World Esperanto Congress in 1905, its five points standing for five continents, the green for hope.
The flag’s design came from a local Esperanto club in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France, and the wider congress simply adopted what already existed rather than commissioning something official. “Verduloj” isn’t a fixed, dictionary-standard nickname — it’s this creator’s own affectionate shorthand — but it plays on exactly the same green symbolism the flag has carried since 1905, even though some Esperantists today favor newer symbols over the green star.