In the evening of December 24, Bulgarian patriarch Maxim served an official liturgy to mark Christmas Eve. The liturgy took place in “Sveta Nedelya” church in the Bulgarian capital Sofia. Christmas Eve is traditionally a family time in Bulgaria and everyone usually gathers at the home of the oldest grandparent. A special dinner, consisting of at least twelve dishes is prepared. All of them are without meat and each of them represents a separate month of the year. Tradition has it that if the dishes are more that twelve the year will be fruitful. On Christmas Eve there is homemade bread in which a coin is placed before it's baked. The oldest person breaks up the bread. The one who gets the piece with the coin in it is believed to be very wealthy in the New Year. The Christmas Eve table is not cleared until the following morning, a typical tradition to insure that there will be plenty of food in the coming year. Every family has a Christmas tree in their home; some are decorated with electric lights, some with candles. Just as in many other nations, children write a letter to Santa Claus to tell what they want for Christmas.