25 of March is a national parade day for Greeks. It is celebrated the Greek uprising against the Turkish oppression of 1821, nevertheless, that gives the opportunity for some nationalists to spread hate and bigotry towards the citizens of the neighborhood country and immigrants who reside in Greece. This year, at the end of the parade in Athens, a group of soldiers from the Greek army together with some riot police officers marched in the city center singing utter racist chants against immigrants, minorities and Turkish people. In this video
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hslGF-0KRqI&feature=play...edded it clearly shows men from the Special Forces are marching and screaming in Greek "You will never become Greek Albanians, Albanians we will spill your blood, pig Albanians", "Foreigners out, Greece is for Greeks", "There will be carnage, then revenge, when we worship our the flag and its cross". There was also a small demo of the neonazi party Golden Dawn but as it has been reported they did not achieve anything. At the end of the video a priest is calling people to "resist" screaming "they are taking over our country"
During the last past years, there has been a massive uprising of xenophobia in Greece. The situation has only gotten worse when the government tried to pass a new naturalization law in the favor of the children who born in Greece from foreign parents that reside there. Attacks against ethnic minorities has been dramatically increased transforming the country to a xenophobic melting pot. Some very notable events took place in towns of the biggest island of the country, Crete, where several times fascist gangs have burnt cars owned by migrant workers or vandalized their own houses. In Chania, (Crete again) twice there was an arson attack to a Jewish synagogue by antisemit groups. One British and one Greek citizen has been arrested while it is estimated that another American has been involved. Also in Sparta, a small town, a teenage group has attacked a Bangladeshi family throwing petrol bombs to their home. African immigrants have complained a couple of times for being treated violently from police officers. Last June a neonazi group set fire to a church which was a temporary home to Asian refugees. A far right also skinhead dropped a hand grenade to an anarchist stamping ground which was hosted Asian immigrants. Fortunately the bomb did not explode. A few months ago about 40 neonazis have been arrested as they tried to attack a left wing protest. It is estimated that some of them have connections with the far right party LA.O.S (Popular Orthodox Rally) which has got the 7% of the total votes in the euro elections and 5.3% in the national elections of October. No one of them faces serious criminal conviction despite they were carrying knives and iron buttons or even making nazi salutations. Racism events do not attract the interest of the Greek media.
There were voices in general "denunciations against the national parades" because it urges people to behave and act in a racist way.
School students also are necessary to participate in National Parades. The Greek education system awards the best students to carry the Greek flag. There were voices against students who are considered like "second generation immigrants" but with very high marks in the exams not to carry the flag as "this a Greek symbol and it has to be carried only by Greeks in blood"