Valentine's Day after fifty, as a reminder, not an obligation❣

Why it's not an American invention – and why this holiday actually belongs to us❣

American. Artificial. Commercial.
Many women over fifty will wave their hands at him, saying that we have May Day and we don't need any heart-warming holidays.

But this is only half the truth.
The second is much more interesting – and surprisingly European.

Figure Saint Valentine's Day It dates back to the 3rd century AD. According to historians, he was probably a bishop from the Italian city of Terni who came into conflict with imperial power. Not because he was a political rebel, but because he supported marriage and married couples in love even at a time when marriage was forbidden.

Legend has it that he was executed for this on February 14, 269.
And this very day later became a symbol of love, devotion, and a relationship that has a deeper meaning than just instant gratification.

This has nothing to do with America at all.

There was already a holiday in medieval Europe Saint Valentine's Day associated with love.
Love messages, known as Valentines, have been sent in England since the 14th century. There is even a letter from Duke Charles of Orleans from 1415, which he wrote to his wife from a London prison. No advertising. Just a desire to express feelings.

It wasn't until the early 20th century that Valentine's Day took hold in the United States - and there it began to take on the commercial form we know today. But that doesn't mean the holiday originated there. America just "packaged" it in a different way.

Few people know that part of the relics of Saint Valentine are also located here - in the St. Vitus Treasury at Prague Castle or at Karlštejn.
In previous centuries, the church of Saint Valentine stood on Valentinská Street in Prague, and his cult was not uncommon in the Czech lands.

The fact that Valentine's Day returned to the public sphere more significantly only after 1989 does not mean that he did not belong to us. We simply forgot about him for a while – and then recognized him in a form that was foreign to us.

The problem isn't Valentine's Day itself. The problem is in its current form.

Women over 50 usually no longer feel the need to compare themselves, prove themselves, or celebrate according to other people's scripts. Which is why the current form of Valentine's Day can seem superficial and noisy to them.

But the original meaning of the holiday was different. Quiet. Personal. About a relationship that matters.
And this is something that women with life experience understand very well.

Valentine's Day doesn't have to compete with May Day. It doesn't have to replace or overwrite anything.
It may just be a reminder that, that love has its place in European tradition – and that relationship, closeness, and commitment are not a fad.

Perhaps, after turning 50, this holiday makes more sense than ever before. Not as a show. But as a quiet return to what is essential.

„"Love does not consist in looking at each other, but in looking together in the same direction."“

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„"It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship, that makes a marriage unhappy."“

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„"Mature love is unity on condition that each person retains their own personality."“

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„"Because it was him. Because it was me."“
(about a friendship that is deeper than passion)

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„"The ideal relationship is a friendship that, in due time, turns into love - and never stops being a friendship."“

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