Valentine's Day

 Valentine's Day

For us, Valentine’s Day isn't just a date on a calendar; it’s a reflection of our life together. As we sit here in the studio, the air is filled with that ambient light we love to use for our "graphics"—but it’s also filled with the quiet focus of two people tackling a massive new creative challenge.

Our "Love Language" is Learning

Lately, our shared time has been spent huddled over the computer. We made the big decision to move away from Canva and Clip Champ, and we’ve been diving headfirst into Blender 2D (Grease Pencil) and DaVinci Resolve.

We’ll be honest—the learning curve is steep! We’ve had those moments where we press one set of keys and the whole clip "takes a walk" on us. Because of that, we haven’t been able to finish the February digital sticker for our members yet. But we are in this together. As soon as we get that first sticker to work in Blender, we’ll be finishing the Valentine’s items anyway. Whether they are used this year or saved for next, they are a labor of love from both of us.

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The Mystery of the Day: Why all the Romance?

While we work on our graphics, we did some digging into where these traditions actually come from. It turns out the history is just as complex as the software we're learning!

• The Folklore & The Lottery: In mid-17th century England, Valentine’s Day was a folk practice. An antiquarian named Henry Bourne wrote in 1725 that St. Valentine had nothing to do with it! Instead, it was a matchmaking lottery where men and women were paired by random drawings as an omen for their future.

• The Poets' Vision: We really have the medieval poets to thank for the romantic "aura" we feel today. Geoffrey Chaucer and Oton de Granson wrote about birds choosing their mates on this day in the 1380s.

• The Calendar of the Heart: While Pope Gelasius I established the feast day for the martyr St. Valentine, it was the medieval church calendar—which marked the start of spring in mid-February—that naturally aligned the day with new beginnings and romance.

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Resources & Further Reading

If you’d like to do your own detective work on the history of the holiday, here are the resources we used for our research:

• Encyclopaedia Britannica: How did Valentine’s Day start?

• Antiquitates Vulgares (1725): The pioneering folklore study by Henry Bourne regarding English folk customs.

• The Parliament of Fowls: Geoffrey Chaucer’s 14th-century poem linking the date to romantic pairing.

• History of Lupercalia: Research on the ancient Roman precursors to modern February festivals.

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Join Our "Serenity" Family

Even while we are "students" of these new tools, we are still sharing our world with you.

• Watch: Please enjoy some of our Valentine’s videos on our YouTube channel @serenityofthemind.

• Support: If you’d like to support our work and help us care for our cats, you can find us at Buy Me a Coffee.

• Follow: We’d love to have you stay for the journey. Please add your email to the box on our sidebar.

Thanks for stopping by and for supporting us as we grow.