Shehecheyanu
Recite this blessing the first time you do something each Jewish calendar year (e.g., the first night of Hanukkah when you light the menorah), and to mark joyous occasions.
Hanukkah: From Battleground to Festival of Lights
The Hebrew word Hanukkah means “dedication” and refers to the joyous eight-day celebration through which Jews commemorate the victory of the Maccabees over the armies of Syria in 165 B.C.E. and the subsequent liberation and “rededication” of the Temple in Jerusalem.
Does a menorah have to have a specific design?
I want to make a menorah as a gift for a good friend of mine. If, due to design constraints, I cannot make the candle holders vertically uniform, would that be an issue?
Maccabees
The family of five sons who led the revolt against the Hellenization of Jerusalem and became the heroes of the Hanukkah story.