Correction Christmas Day!!
George Washington needed to win the war immediately or accept defeat.
Washington succeeded at the Battle of Trenton on December 25, 1776 when the Patriot Army defeated the Hessians. Washington chose to sail across the Delaware River on Christmas night from what is now called Washington’s Crossing, Pennsylvania to Trenton, New Jersey while the Hessians slept after eating and drinking to celebrate the holiday.
http://pabook2.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/DurhamBoat.html