It has been adapted to various media, including animated, live-action, and VR films as well as television musicals and opera.

[1] On a freezing New Year's Eve, a poor young girl, shivering, bareheaded and barefoot, unsuccessfully tries to sell matches in the street.

In the flame of the matches, she sees a series of comforting visions: a warm iron stove, a lovely roasted goose, and a great glorious Christmas tree.

The next morning, passers-by find the girl's body with a smile on her face and express pity, but they do not know about the wonderful visions she had seen or how happy she is with her grandmother in Heaven.

The work was also published 30 March 1863 as a part of Fairy Tales and Stories (1863), Second Volume (Eventyr og Historier (1863), Andet Bind).