What are bread and circuses?

Bread and circuses are when leaders give people food and fun to keep them happy, so they don’t worry about bigger problems.

Imagine you’re at a big party with your friends. You get pizza and soda, and there’s even a clown juggling balls! You're too busy laughing and eating to think about anything else, like maybe the fact that your parents are working really hard to afford this party. That's kind of how bread and circuses work.

• Bread is like the pizza, it’s food, something you need to survive.
• Circuses are like the clown and the juggling, they’re fun things that make people happy.

When leaders give people bread and circuses, they're trying to keep them distracted. It's a simple way to say: “Don’t worry about your problems, just enjoy this!”

Sometimes, it works really well. But sometimes, people forget all the hard work behind the fun!