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From an article "At, on and in (time)" by Cambridge Dictionary:

At the New Year, millions of people travel home to be with their families.

From an entry for new year on Oxford Learner's Dictionaries:

We're going to Germany for Christmas and New Year.

When do you use "the" before "New Year" or not? Does adding or removing "the" introduce any different nuance?

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Without "the", "New Year" is specifically about the Dec 31-January 1 turnover, with "the" it is about the upcoming year more generally. Your first example sentence the travel could really be taken any time prior to Jan 1, and last some unspecified time after. The second sentence is saying the travel to Germany is being done to be there specifically for Christmas and the Dec 31-Jan 1 turnover.

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    I'd say it refers to the holiday of New Year's Eve/Day, not just the turnover.
    – Barmar
    Jul 23 at 13:47

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