Taikonauts Celebrate Lunar New Year From Tiangong Space Station
LUNAR NEW YEAR Today marks the start of the year of the tiger, and people on earth, and even in space, have been busy celebrating. Even when you're floating 425 kilometres away from your home planet, Lunar New Year is a big deal. Well, at least it was for these taikonauts on board the Chinese space station. Back down on Earth, and the celebrations are a bit more extravagant. The lunar new year, also known as Chinese New Year or the spring festival, is celebrated on a different day every year according to the different phases of the moon, and each year is given 1 of 12 animals. This year it's the tiger. All of these fireworks, and noises and colours are said to scare away an ancient monster called Nian. The Lunar New Year is usually a time to catch up and have a big feast with your family, but obviously these last few years have been different. These guys are celebrating virtually with their grandparents back in China. And for the first time, no events will be held in Melbourne's Chinatown. Still, the spring festival is a special time for billions of people across the globe. So happy year of the tiger everyone! SOUTH AUSTRALIA WEATHER Wet weather in South Australia has been causing some big problems. Floodwaters have left some roads, and railway lines underwater, or damaged. Including along the Stuart Highway, the main link between Adelaide and Darwin, so supplies to the state's north and through to the Northern Territory haven't been able to get through. The air force has been air dropping emergency supplies to Coober Pedy, but there's more rain expected, so it might be a few weeks before things return to normal. SKI JUMPERS The Winter Olympics is just days away, so we're taking a closer look at the sport of ski jumping, and hear from some kids in the US who are hoping to make it there themselves one day. Ski jumping looks terrifying, and also very cool. But any pro Ski Jumper you watch mostly likely started out looking a little like this. This Ski club in Illinois is where many young American ski jumpers come to learn the sport. The idea is pretty simple: ski down a steep ramp that curves upward at the end and jump as far you can. Three American athletes who are about to compete at the Winter Olympics actually started out here. So while they might be competing on the world stage one day, for now it's about getting up there. That does sound fun, is it too late to take up ski jumping? TEDDY BEARS ICE HOCKEY A regular ice hockey match. With a not so regular twist. Tens of thousands of soft, fluffy bears tossed onto the ice by fans. Crowds take part in the annual tradition after the home team scores its first goal. The stuffed toys are then donated to various charities. At the end of the night, a record-breaking 52,000 plushies were collected. Nice. PROFESSIONAL PILLOW FIGHTING Pillow fighting. Not the first pro combat sport that comes to mind. But in Florida in the US, it's hit the bigtime. With $5,000 and a title belt on the line, 24 competitors battled it out for the ultimate glory. Who comes up with this stuff? DOG SLED COMPETITION Dog owners in Russia have been training their four legged athletes for the Fominskie Paws dog sled races. There are two ways you can do it, either in a sled, or just on skis. And while there are prizes, they're nothing flash, mostly certificates and thermal underwear and stuff, because hanging out with man's best friend is already prize enough. __________________________________________ Make sure to like & subscribe to our videos if you want to stay in the know! 👉 Subscribe https://www.youtube.com/behindthenews... We have 1000s of stories on all sorts of topics - if you're looking for help to understand something, you'll probably find it on BTN http://www.abc.net.au/btn/ Follow us on Social Media: TikTok / behindthenewstv Facebook: / abcbtn Instagram: / behindthenews For the past 50 years, Behind the News has been helping to break down current issues and events for young people all around the world. The program is a high-energy, fun way for people to learn about the stories we see in the news while providing background information that isn’t usually given by other news bulletins.
