Apple’s iconic fruit is such a symbol, as is Airbnb’s new sexual Rorschach test of an symbol. Other examples of symbols include the Red Cross and Red Crescent emblems, the Shell gas station ...

For example, the red colour is a “stop” sign in traffic, but a “fertility” symbol in Hinduism, and in China, while being indicative of the “devil”, “scarlet women” or “Santa ...

Consider the difference between a sign and a symbol. A symbol points beyond itself, while a sign does not. A Christmas tree is a sign of Christmas. It’s just a tree.