At the invitation of the head of the North Banat District and the chairman of the Mokrin Community, on Easter Sunday, 1 May 2005, the Chairman of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, Predrag Markovic, visited the town of Mokrin and attended the 15th World Easter Egg Rapping Championship, a contest involving the Orthodox custom of making coloured hard-boiled eggs for Easter, which people then rap against their friends’ eggs; the owner of the last uncracked egg is considered lucky.

Addressing the members of the public gathered for the event, Mr Markovic said: “The importance of this Championship is much greater than one might think. We cannot enter Europe without standards, we must change that which is bad, but also keep that which is good; in other words, keep our identity. The way Easter is celebrated here is unique in the world, and it is our responsibility to preserve these fine traditions. As it says in the Constitution of the European Union – we join Europe, respecting national traditions.”

Mr Markovic visited the Mokrin Community and spoke with the chairman, Goran Dumitrov-Dat, promising that he would personally finance, as he always did, the gift to the Community of a new wall plaque with the Serbian coat of arms, adopted by the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia in 2004.