Shooting Star (Symbol)
While staring at the sky after hallucinating a Christmas tree, the little girl sees a shooting star. She interprets the star as a sign someone must be dying, because her grandma used to say that a falling star represents a human soul ascending to heaven. She does not realize she is the person dying.
Matches (Symbol)
Initially, the little girl's matches represent safety, as she needs to sell them to avoid a beating from her father. The matches' symbolic value is fleshed out more as the story progresses and the little girl strikes her matches for warmth, discovering their magical ability to imaginatively satisfy her desires for safety and comfort in the form of warmth, food, prosperity, and love.
Fair Hair (Symbol)
The little girl is described as having long fair hair. In the time Hans Christian Andersen was writing, blonde hair was a symbol of purity and youth, and therefore emphasizes the little girl's innocence.
