On average, the Sun is 93.0 million miles (149.6 million km)
     away from the Earth: That's about 400 times further away than
     the Moon is.

     Because the Earth follows an orbit around the Sun that has
     the shape of an ellipse (a slightly squashed circle), the
     distance of the Earth from the Sun changes a bit throughout
     the year.

     Around 2 January of each year the Sun is closest to the Earth,
     at 91.4 million miles (147.1 million km), and around 2 July of
     each year the Sun is furthest away from the Earth, at 94.5
     million miles (152.1 million km). The point in the Earth's orbit
     that is closest to the Sun is called the perihelion of the Earth's
     orbit, and the point that is furthest away is called the aphelion.


     http://www.sunspot.noao.edu/sunspot/pr/answerbook/sun.html

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 For more details of "seasons" and Earth wobbles -

 http://www.perceptions.couk.com/precess.html#sols

 i.e. mid-Summer or mid-Winter solstices (the real reason
 for late December feast / rejoicing in Nordic countries) 


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              FURTHER REFERENCES

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file-ID www.perceptions.couk.com/solsysfx.txt