The Christmas Pig

Dur Pig, or DP, is Jack’s favorite toy and best friend. A worn-out stuffed animal with a “grayish and faded” (viii) appearance, he has had many adventures with Jack. His beaded eyes have been replaced with buttons, and one of his ears is worn because Jack used to suck on it when he was a toddler. At the beginning of the story, DP is simply a lifeless toy that Jack relies on for companionship and comfort. However, by the end of the story, DP becomes lost and enters the so-called Island of the Beloved, a place that harbors cherished toys that have been destroyed. In this place, DP becomes a fully animated person who joyfully reunites with Jack. When DP appears in this form, he serves as a wise mentor to Jack, showing the boy love and displaying a strong sense of fairness. He appreciates Jack’s efforts to rescue him, but he does not want to return to the Land of the Living if it means that the Christmas Pig will suffer. When Jack decides to leave DP and rescue the Christmas Pig, DP supports this difficult decision, saying, “I hoped you’d decide that, Jack. I’m glad” (230).

Jack’s love for DP is the main driver of the plot. Long before the toy is lost on the highway, DP serves as Jack’s main confidante during his parents’ divorce and his mother’s new marriage. As the narrative states, “DP was the only one Jack could tell how much he wanted things to stop changing. He never needed to pretend with DP” (17). When Holly later punishes Jack by throwing DP out of the car window, she deprives Jack of his best friend. This dynamic becomes clear when Jack expresses intense grief and vows to rescue his lost friend. 

Jack’s dedication to risking his own safety to find DP shows that he considers the toy to a person rather than a replaceable “Thing.” The pair’s reunion also illustrates their strong bond, and Rowling draws the moment out with an effusively emotional description, writing:

Jack splashed through the water, his arms wide open, and DP’s button eyes were leaking tears, and then they reached each other and hugged […], and Jack breathed in DP’s smell of bed, and garden, and of the trace of Mum’s perfume, from where she kissed DP good night (224).

 Because Jack’s love for DP remains steadfast in the face of many challenges, this bond stands as a prime example of the significant role that a special toy can play in a child’s inner world.

The titular Christmas Pig is a stuffed animal that closely resembles DP and is purchased as a replacement for Jack’s beloved toy. The Christmas Pig, or “CP,” refers to DP as his “brother” and explains that identical stuffed toys always have a close connection to one another. A clever and opinionated stuffed animal, the Christmas Pig comes alive on Christmas Eve and helps in Jack’s quest to find DP, Jack’s favorite toy, in the Land of the Lost. The Christmas Pig’s deep commitment to Jack shows his loyalty and empathy. At first, he is grumpy with Jack, who rejects and mistreats him during his tantrum. However, as the story progresses, Jack begins to bond with his new toy, he eventually realizes that the Christmas Pig cares deeply about him. As DP explains, “[CP] was a Replacement, and Replacements, once Alivened, understand all about their owner from the very start. All that I know about you, he knows, and he’s always loved you, just as much as I do” (228). The Christmas Pig’s love for Jack compels him to sacrifice himself to the Loser, and this selfless gesture teaches Jack a powerful lesson about loyalty. When Jack’s rescues his new friend, he strengthens their growing bond, which they continue in the Land of the Living.

Compass is a secondary, flat character in the story. She is a broken compass that her owner lost while hiking in the forest. Unusable and unwanted in the Land of the Living, she is condemned to live in the Wastes with other broken and unvalued Things. Even though Compass has a difficult life, she revels in her sense of adventure and makes an effort to help others. For instance, she responds to Poem’s request to help Jack and the Christmas Pig to navigate the Wastes and find the City of the Missed. Instead of fearing the Loser, she shows her dedication and love of adventure as she races away from this villain and warns the others. Her positivity and generosity help the Christmas Pig and Jack to avoid trouble and cross the Wastes safely.

Jack’s Gran and Grandpa are minor, flat characters. When Jack’s parents get divorced, Jack spends more time with his grandparents, who babysit him while his Mum is at work. They are caring and attentive people who want Jack to be happy and try to keep the peace within the family. For example, they take Holly and Jack to the mall to choose a new Christmas angel, and they try to moderate the conflict between the two. Gran and Grandpa understand how important DP is to Jack, and they try to find the toy on the highway. When they cannot find him, they buy Jack a new replacement pig, the Christmas Pig, and this fateful decision fuels the rest of the story.

Holly Macauley is an older girl who splits her time between her mum and dad, who are divorced. At the beginning of the story, she shows Jack kindness, but when she realizes that Jack is to be her new step-brother, she begins to bully him, and her misbehavior causes tension in the house. Holly acts as the novel’s first antagonist when she throws DP out the car window. Seeing Jack’s distress, however, she decides to stop bullying him. Her decision sends a personification of her bullying habit, “Bullyboss,” down to the Land of the Lost, where he later encounters Jack. This meeting helps Jack to understand Holly’s hidden inner pain as she too works on coping with change and loss. Holly’s change of heart at the end of the book shows her growing empathy and suggests that she and Jack will be able to build a healthier relationship.

Hope is a “Thing” that lives in the Land of the Lost—specifically in the City of the Missed. She is a physical manifestation of the emotion of hope itself. She explains to Jack that she used to belong to someone who was wrongly imprisoned, and she is waiting for this person to find their hope again so that she can return to the Land of the Living.

Hope is portrayed as a beautiful, glowing woman with a long dress and strong, feathered wings. She is powerful enough to break out of any cage, including the room in which King Power tries to imprison her. Hope plays a heroic role when she rescues Jack and the Christmas Pig from King Power and flies them to the Island of the Beloved, where Jack reunites with DP. Jack is awed by Hope’s beauty and quiet strength, and he later uses Hope to help all of the Things break out of their cages in the Loser’s lair.

Jack’s mother works as a nurse at a hospital and is Jack’s main caregiver after she divorces his father. Although she loves and cares for Jack, she does not understand his true feelings about the major changes in the family. She tries to help him to adjust, but he prefers to confide in DP rather than in her. Because of his love for his mother, Jack wants to keep her from realizing just how unhappy he is. As a result, Mum does not know about Jack’s worries about his school and his stepfather.

Mum understands and supports Jack’s attachment to DP. For instance, when the toy’s eyes need to be replaced, she performs “surgery” by sewing new buttons on his face, and she even gives the toy a “set of medical notes” (viii) and names herself as the “surgeon.” When Jack is in the middle of his quest, he fears that he will become trapped in the Land of the Lost and never see his mother again. In the end, he is relieved to reunite with his mum, who “pull[s] him into a hug” and whispers, “I’m so sorry about DP” (266). Their reunion suggests that they still have a loving and positive relationship despite their recent misunderstandings.