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We have learned in the following braisa: One who buried his dead three days prior to the festival, the decree regarding the seven days of mourning are cancelled. One who buried his dead eight days prior to the festival, the decree regarding the thirty days of mourning are cancelled. He may take a haircut on the eve of the festival; if he did not, he is forbidden from taking a haircut after the festival.
Poskim discuss different applications of this principle. Mordechai discusses a case of a person who on the third day of mourning lost another relative. This person completed the seven days of mourning for the first relative and then observed another seven days for the second relative not wanting the four overlapping days to apply to both relatives.
We explore the halachos of shloshim and the levels of grief associated with this step in the mourning process.