In Chinese culture, this is the year of the Ox, symbolising prosperity through fortitude and hard work.
In Western culture, 2009 is the International Year of Astronomy, a chance to see what we may in the stars.
In short, the future looks likely to be an even bet and, while we cannot guarantee the worth of any predictions made here, we are certain of one thing: 2009 will be just like 2008 - mostly unpredictable.
So, the wise will work hard and save their pennies; the starry-eyed will look heavenwards for solutions.
If we can be certain of anything it is that nothing is certain, but we can be sure we will be assailed by the politicians and oracles with certainties all the live long day.
The certainty of certain investments proved last year to have a very large degree of uncertainty as the world plunged into recession, banks collapsed, capitalism's suckers turned to the State for succor, millions of jobs disappeared, and learning to grow your own vegetables suddenly became as important as learning how to ride shanks's pony again.
In respect of the latter, we must mention the latest in gadgets, TaxiWalker, designed especially for the now bankrupt company owner or laid-off business executive.
Like a pedometer, this attaches to one's person and measures the number of steps taken and the distance walked.
The machine then calculates the taxi fare that would have been charged had the pedestrian in fact taken a taxi rather than saved the fare.
Evening surcharges apply.
More likely to be widely popular is a machine still in the final stages of manufacture, we are informed.
This is the Emotional Trauma Compensation Calculator. We think it may be a killer on the market.
It is evidently just like an ordinary calculator except that users enter a number representing the level of indignity or outrage suffered, and multiply it by another number indicative of the status of the tormentor.
This produces a figure representative of the appropriate rage level and then a monetary sum representing the financial compensation you should demand if you decide to take the matter to a court.
We can see it being a must-have across a range of socio-economic groups, including pro- and anti-stadium enthusiasts and the holders of negative mortgages in Queenstown.
It could be that 2009 will be a very litigious year.
Likely, too, is the demise of man-made global warming as a certainty firmly held by Western governments.
Their plans to rort taxpayers for the costs of our methane discharges are bound to fail once the full impact of the current northern winter takes effect.
Most of Canada, North America and Britain is said to be under snow or ice or both, and in Britain at least people are talking of comparisons with the winter of 1962-63, when the country was under snow from December to March, or 1947 when snow fell on all but two days of the month and the drifts were 3m deep in the Chilterns.
Not quite as bad as the winter of 1647-48, mind you, when you could drive a coach along the frozen Thames.
But it looks as though all the polar bears that were facing a summer ice-free existence at the North Pole will, in fact, now be ice-bound, at least for a while.
Expect all those planned Otago wind farms to be abandoned and terms like "emissions trading", "carbon capture", "biofuels","energy gap" to be consigned to the place where "awesome" and "at this point in time" are located.
We know the scientists developing household paint with photovoltaic nano-particles that can absorb sunlight and conduct electricity will claim we will no longer need power stations - just plug that hair-dryer into the wall.
We can expect the relentless tide of health alarms posing as the results of medical research to include yet another claiming that meat pies are bad for us, or that "wrinkle-free" creams really do work.
It is a certainty, too, that despite official interest rates near zero, the trading banks will still be charging an arm and a leg for a loan.
Home baking will return to popularity, as will raising our own chickens, though there will be noise complaints to the council about roosters.
Skirts will be shorter.
People will start being nice to one another even while motoring, and pop music will have rhyming verses we can all understand.
Australia will lose the Ashes and a woman will be named coach of the England Six Nations rugby team.
Barack Obama will give up smoking.
Dunedin will re-brand itself as "We're all bright here".
And by printing more and more money, governments the world over will restore prosperity and put a smile on everyone's face.
Happy New Year!
