Anderson Cooper makes fun of Dyngus Day

NEW YORK, NY (WIVB) - The dust has settled on Dyngus Day, but the attention on Buffalo is growing. A CNN anchor, and the host of Anderson, is getting a kick out of the quirky holiday.

Who knew that Buffalo and its annual Dyngus Day celebration would make national television? That was the case on CNN’s Anderson 360 and Anderson Cooper.

Anderson Cooper said, “If you really wanted the most bang for your Dyngus buck, you’ve got to shuffle off to Buffalo.”

How about it, a Polish-American tradition in Buffalo getting some free air before a world-wide audience. They even used an excerpt from a report by News 4’s Joe Arena.

The excerpt read, “The quirky little rituals include boys sprinkling girls that they fancy with water. And the girls striking back with a tap from a pussy willow branch.”

But as we know in life, nothing is really free. Because this plug comes at the expense of laughter, at least for Cooper, a lot of laughing.

  >>  Dyngus Day Buffalo responded to Cooper's statements

At that point, Cooper couldn’t control himself. He tried to hold back from laughing, but couldn’t do it.

“It’s really so stupid,” Cooper laughed.

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Anderson Cooper has commented on the segment on Twitter:

His tweet reads, ‘Just learned some groups believe I called Dyngus Day "so stupid" in ridiculist. I didn't. I was saying my giggling fit was "so stupid."’

He also tweeted, “In ridiculist I called my silly giggle fit "so stupid" not @dyngusday. Sounds like a fun celebration. Genuinely sorry if I offended anyone.”

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Cooper kept laughing, at one point wiping away tears. If that wasn’t enough of a zinger for Buffalo and its proud Polish community, Cooper then added, “If nothing else next year, you have a new excuse to drink if you can’t hold until Cinco De Mayo. You’re welcome. And to the good citizens of Buffalo, wringing out their clothes, tending to their beer and kielbasa hang over and pussy willow today, happy belated Dyngus Day.”

In response, Dyngus Day Buffalo has invited Cooper to attend Dyngus Day 2013 and experience the festival for himself.

>> Photo gallery: Dyngus Day responds to Cooper

"It's only appropriate that Cooper is named 2013 Pussy Willow Prince as next year's Dyngus Day falls on April 1st," said Eddy Dobosiewicz, Co-Founder of Dyngus Day Buffalo.

The invitation to attend will come in the form of a box featuring polish sausage and pussy willows.