Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) has thrown cold water on CNN’s Anderson Cooper for mocking the absurdity of Dyngus Day on national television.
Schumer Twitter-bashed Cooper for skewering the niche holiday and hailed Buffalo, N.Y., for hosting the annual post-Lenten blowout. Cooper has since issued a succession of apologetic tweets begging for forgiveness from anyone offended by his on-camera giggling:
For those who’ve never formally Dyngused, imagine a celebration by Polish-Americans raring to resume eating and drinking in earnest. They also soak each other with water guns and playfully whip one another with pussy willows.
Buffalo bills itself as the “Dyngus Day capital of the world,” hosting a weeklong fete that includes everything from Bloody Mary breakfasts to round-the-clock polka dancing. A Schumer aide confirmed that although the Senator has never partaken in the festival proper, Schumer pops into Buffalo at least once per month and has made an appearance at the city’s annual Polish Fest.
Our favorite takeaway from Anderson’s original report occurred when he quotes a local Buffalonian as saying Dyngus is kind of funny because it’s spelled with a “y.”
Heard on the Hill is Roll Call's Capitol Hill gossip blog.
Warren Rojas is a Heard on the Hill columnist for Roll Call, having previously worked as the founding dining editor for Northern Virginia Magazine and also as a tax reporter for Tax Notes. @WARojas
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