It's a Dyngus Day Disaster!

[hedgehog]

A natural disaster has befallen the local pussy willow crop, threatening courtship traditions of the post-Easter celebration of Dyngus Day.

Because of the unseasonably warm weather -- Tuesday's high of 80 degrees marked the fourth straight day of record-setting temperatures at Buffalo Niagara International Airport -- the growth on pussy willow branches quickly is exceeding the desired fuzzy bud, or catkin, stage.

According to Polish custom, young men and women demonstrate their interest in potential mates by swatting them with pussy willow branches or dousing them with water.

"Without the proper pussy willows, who knows. Marriages might not happen. Relationships could fall apart," said "Airborne" Eddy Dobosiewicz, Dyngus Day Buffalo's other co-founder.

http://www.buffalonews.com/city/article773102.ece

[xchrom]

1. Makes Dyngus sad. Nt

[ehrnst]

2. Am I the only one getting the church giggles reading this? (nt)

[Cirque du So-What]

4. I have no idea what the Polish call 'pussy willows'

but I have a feeling that even if 'pussy willow' translates verbatim in Polish, they don't have the same euphemistic meaning for 'pussy' that gives us the giggles.

[hedgehog]

3. All kidding aside - if nothing else, this

is a real measure of a global climate change when a centuries' old custom is interrupted like this!

[Cirque du So-What]

5. Indeed

and that's the crux of this article.